My Prince Charming
by writersblockismystyle135
Summary: There once lived four princes of four different countries. They all had their differences but they did have one same thought. Their castles were way overdue for a set of new servants.  Full sum inside no main pairing Sas/Sak, Nar/Hin, Neji/Ten, Shika/Ino.
1. Chapter 1

**Ok so here is my second story posted. At first I wasn't sure about putting up stories that are not complete yet but I want to see if reviews might encourage me to complete my stories sooner. So here it is. Yes, this is a story of princes and all that fairytale stuff, however it (hopefully) will not be like others that you have read because I try to use only my own ideas.**

**Summary: There once lived four princes of four different countries. The youngest of them had just turned eighteen and all the princes were finally given the throne that rightfully belonged to them. They all had there differences but they did have one same thought. Their castles were way overdue for a set of new servants.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, only the plot of my story. =)**

**Prologue**

This is a story about four princes and four ordinary girls. It started many years ago on an ordinary day. There lived four royal families in four different Countries. The Fire Country, the Water Country, the Earth Country, and the Wind Country. The Princes all knew each other for their parents became friends while they were signing peace treaties for their countries years back.

Over the years, Uzumaki Minato fell ill to a fatal disease that his wife had before she passed away a year before. Eventually he too consumed to the illness and deceased months later. His one and only son Uzumaki Naruto, became the crowned prince of the Water Country at the age of 15.

Months after Minato's Death, Uchiha Fugaku and his wife, Uchiha Mikoto were traveling to a nearby village when they were attacked and murdered. The crown was then handed to their eldest son Uchiha Itachi. A week later Itachi ran from the castle to some unknown location. No one knew the real reason as to why he left so different rumors started to spread. Some believed that he ran away because becoming King was to stressful. Others believed that he ran away because he didn't ever want to be King in the first place. When he left, the crown was automatically handed down to the second and youngest Uchiha Sasuke. Therefore Uchiha Sasuke became the crowned prince of the Fire Country also at the young age of 15.

For Naruto and Sasuke ruling at such a young age was against the law so the elders of the country of Fire and Water were to make the decisions until the crowned princes became of the age to rule, eighteen. Until then, they were to go on the trips to sign peace treaties with other countries. They went together to the countries and became good friends along the way.

As for the other two Countries, Nara Shikaku, the King of the Earth Country decided it was a lot of work being a King and he would retire early and give the crown to his only son Nara Shikamaru, when he turned the age of eighteen.

The last King, Lord Hyuuga Hiashi also decided to retire when his nephew turned eighteen due to the fact that he was the eldest and only close male relative. Lord Hiashi was accepted to join the council of elders for the Wind Country when his nephew became of age.

The council of elders of the four countries heard about how the princes of their countries were all to become King at the age of eighteen. To make things easier for the princes, the council decided that when the youngest of the four princes, Uzumaki Naruto, turned eighteen on the tenth day of the tenth month they would move out of the castle but refuse to let them have full responsibility until they turned twenty-three. The council decided that that when Naruto turned eighteen, they would give the princes a chance to get used to becoming King without giving them the full responsibilities of one. They would give them a chance to roam the secret rooms of their castles and to do what they want with the money they had knowing that money wasn't a problem for them. The council also decided that until the age of twenty-three they themselves would take care of the paperwork since that was the most challenging part for a King. Other than that the princes were free to do whatever they pleased.

This Story starts a couple weeks after Uzumaki Naruto's eighteenth birthday. The elders have just moved out of the castles including Hyuuga Hiashi who was just accepted to become an official elder and Nara Shikaku who decided to go to some unknown land with his lovely wife where the sun always shines and clouds line up in the sky everyday. Before reading this lovely fairytale one needs to know the personalities of these unparticular princes.

First, the oldest of the princes is the prince of the Wind Country, Hyuuga Neji. Born on July 3rd, his father, Hyuuga Hizashi died protecting his Uncle, Lord Hyuuga Hiashi from a surprise attack. His Mother and Aunt are long deceased. Neji has never been talked back to before (unless someone is answering a question) because everyone in the castle is afraid of him or what he might do to them if they talk back. He is now nineteen and very smug that the elders have left and he is trusted with more responsibility.

Next is the prince of the Fire Country, Uchiha Sasuke. Born on July 23rd His parents were ambushed and murdered. Like Neji, he is not a people person. Though he like to talk, he's very aware of the fact that the younger servants think he is hot and messes around by smiling and winking at them every once in a while only to cure his boredom. No one knows of this attitude except for the servants, but the younger servants are still oblivious, not wanting to believe that the prince would really act like that. Everyone outside the castle knows him as a human ice cube. He is now eighteen and is pleased that the annoying old "things" have left the castle and won't be bothering him by telling him what to do, how to act, and what words he should and shouldn't say. They weren't any help in his opinion anyway.

After that was the prince of the Earth Country, Nara Shikamaru. Born on September 22nd, his mom and dad are currently alive but retired and living in possibly another country for he forgot to ask specifically where his parents were going and thinks it's not worth his time to try and find out. Shikamaru is a very lazy genius. He is now eighteen and couldn't care less that the council has moved out of the castle. However, he is glad that his mother has moved out for she was getting kind of loud and he still wishes his dad will come home take his troublesome job back and ask for him to move out instead. Though, the chances of that happening is zero.

Finally, the youngest of the princes is the prince of the Water Country, Uzumaki Naruto. Born on October 10th, his parents died of a fatal disease that has long passed. Naruto isn't the smartest of the princes but is definitely the most stubborn. He promises that he will become the best King in the whole world. He is now eighteen and is ecstatic that the "old farts" (that always criticize his actions and decisions) are finally gone. He is also psyched that no one can tell him where he can and can't place a ramen shop anymore.

Some things these princes have in common other than being princes is: 1.) The only servants they except are females. 2.) They all decided to get more servants. 3.) They will each learn that some things you can only get by effort. 4.) They may not know it, but they decided to get servants from little towns in their own countries on the same day.

This is where the four ordinary girls come in and this is also where our story begins.

That's it for this chapter. Hopefully it will get more enjoyable as the story progresses. =)

Remember! Reviews are always welcome! & flames, well not as much, but if you want please do so as long as you put them nicely! =P


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's the next chapter, I think I'm going to start off with three chapters so the story can get started.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

**In a small town in the Wind Country**

"Hey you! Get back here!" yelled a guard from the Wind Country Castle. This guard was currently chasing a young brunette female who was running away from him.

This guard was given specific orders from the new official prince of the Wind Country, Neji Hyuga, to go to any one little village near the outskirts of the country and take any women that are seventeen to twenty, that are in good condition and bring them back to the castle as a servant. Since the prince asked for something so simple, there wasn't any chance that his best guard was going to fail him now, by leaving a perfectly healthy girl, who looked to be between the age limit, behind. He agreed with the prince that there was no room whatsoever for failures at the castle.

"Yeah, like I'd ever listen to you. You're just a drone of the royal prince who I'd never work for. There is no way that I'd work for an emotional prince, because it would be terrible if I ever gained his crappy attitude." The brunette replied turning down the alley way laughing, with the guard right at her heels and falling further behind every passing second.

"And didn't you say you were his best guard because you're falling behind flubber boy. It may look like you have muscles under that suit but if you were to tell people the truth you would probably have to admit you have some pounds to lose there don't ya." With that she took off faster laughing.

"Why you disrespectful girl! If I wasn't suppose to bring all girls to the castle alive, then you probably wouldn't be here right now." The guard spat back.

"You're probably right." Replied the girl, "I probably wouldn't be here right now… If you could keep up… haha-oomph!"

"He might not be able to keep up but we can." said one of the guards who just jumped in front of the girl causing her to crash into his body. Another guard came out of their hiding spot and grabbed a hold of her, making sure she couldn't get away and whispered in her ear, "He may be the head guard, but we're the fastest. His specialty is when it comes to brute force and loyalty to the prince."

"Let me go!" the brunette screamed. All cheeriness in her voice was long gone as she struggled to break free. The chief guard finally caught up. After he caught his breath he composed himself and walked up to the struggling girl and spoke in a gruff tone.

"Why aren't you a little trouble maker. It might be good for you to be at the castle where you might learn some respect. I assure you, the prince's attitude is far better than yours and you might want to hold your tongue around us guards, unless you're looking to forward to getting hurt."

"Yes mum." the girl mumbled. The chief heard that and growled but then composed himself again and asked, "What's your name girl." It was more of a command than a question.

"Ha, wouldn't you just love to know." the girl spat back.

"You don't have an option so answer the question." the guard barked.

"Why not? Don't tell me he died and made you king. Although, that would be better because that would make it a lot easier to escape. I mean, all I have to do is jog."

"That's it!" growled the guard, "Just put her in the wagon." with that said the other two guards picked up the struggling girl and threw her rather hard in the back of the wagon with the rest of the women from the small town and locked the barred door. The brunette gave a sad smile of accomplishment as she looked out the back and waved good-bye to the seventeen year old girl who managed to escape during her distraction. _'Take good care of mom and dad Tamika and one day you will grow up beautiful and brave just like your older sister'_ she thought before closing her eyes and going to sleep knowing it was going to be a long ride to the castle.

**In a small town in the Earth Country**

"Hey Kitimaku, Hyagi, look what I got for Segumi once she gets better! It's a mini sewing kit. It has mini scissors, sequins, needles, and a lot of string. I made sure it came with all sorts of shades of green string because even though I think it's a hideous color I know it's her favorite. It also comes with different colors and shades so she can be really creative and colorful!" giggled a blonde as she ran up to two boys showing them what she just bought.

"Yeah, I'm sure she'll love It." replied Kitimaku, "She loves to sew. Especially, since she got sick. That's all she has been doing. Do you want me to give it to her or do you want to wait? She's almost all the way better but she still needs to lie down and we're waiting till she is completely well until she can have visitors because it could still be contagious."

"Um, thanks for offering but I want to give it to her. It would have been completely pointless for me to buy her this if I don't even get to see the look on her face when she sees it." The blonde replied sweetly.

"O-Kay, but you need wait a couple more days to see her." Kitimaku replied with a shrug.

"That's no problem. I can wait a few days. It's not like I'm going anywhere." The blonde said, unconsciously placing the kit in her big pocket on her jacket.

"Anyway," replied the other boy, Hyagi, "We haven't seen you in a while. Not since Segumi's got sick at least. How have you bee…" Hyagi faded out the sentence as he saw something odd heading towards them. Kitimaku looked towards what his younger brother was getting disturbed by which caused the blonde to look too.

"What's that?" The blonde asked.

Kitimaku was pulled out of what he was thinking by her voice. "It's a wagon from the Earth castle. One came by here when I was four before you were even born and right after Hyagi was born."

"Why?" asked the blonde.

"I don't think you want to know. Ino, maybe you should go home." Kitimaku replied.

"What?" After Ino said that they turned back to the wagon which just pulled up near them and guards jumped out of it and started running into random houses. One guard ran into Segumi's house.

"No!" Kitimaku shouted as Hyagi and him ran towards their house. A guard snuck up, grabbed Ino and started pulling her back to the wagon.

"Let me go!" she screamed. Hyagi turned around and saw the guard dragging Ino to the wagon. He didn't know what was going on but by the way his brother shouted when those guards went into their house, the looks of it weren't very good.

"Ino!" Hyagi yelled running up to the guard with his fist outstretched, ready to land a punch. The guard took out his sword in a split second and hit Hyagi in the stomach with the hilt of it. Hyagi doubled over in pain and out of breath. "Let her go." He gasped.

"Sorry, but I can't do that." The guard replied kicking him in the stomach over and over again.

"Stop it! Please stop it!" Ino screamed at the guard. Another guard came out of Segumi's house and shouted at him.

"That's enough! We have plenty of women. There's one in there, but she's sick so we'll leave her behind. Throw that girl in your arms in the wagon and let's get going. We're through here."

The guard did as he was told and threw the struggling blonde in the wagon, closing the door. Hyagi was still on the ground gasping for breath when Kitimaku ran out of the house and ran to help his younger brother. Kitimaku helped Hyagi stand up as they both turned towards the disappearing wagon. Hyagi mouthed an "I'm so sorry" and Kitimaku just looked away, ashamed that he could do nothing to help his younger sisters friend.

Ino sat staring out the barred door for who knows how long. Then, she felt a bump in her jacket pocket and remembered that she never did get to give her gift to Segumi and would never have a chance to ever again. Silent tears came out and finally fatigue consumed her.

**Read and Review please! =)**

**If you have any questions throughout any of my stories please feel free to ask and then I will try to answer them in later chapters.**

**I would also like to thank and apologize to the flamer (although I doubt they will read this). I would like to thank them for the 'really harsh' criticism because I am glad that they spoke their mind. I would like to apologize for how original it may be but I did mention before that it was a typical 'prince story'. I can assure you that these have all been my writing and my thoughts and I have not copied from anyone. I would also like to apologize because looking at the fact that a lot more people liked the beginning I will post up a couple more chapters before deciding whether or not I should discontinue this story. Thank you.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's the next chapter! Let's get straight to the story shall we.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters.**

**In a small town in the Water Country**

"Hinata! Upstairs Now!"

The pale, midnight blue haired girl sighed as she ran up the flight of stairs. Once she reached the top she went through the first door she saw. "Yes, I-is something the matter?"

"How long did you let this tea cool?"

"Maybe a few minutes more than usual. I w-was very busy with the other chores." Came the timid reply.

"Well that was too long. It's too cold. You're worthless, you know that right my dear? After how long we've kept you, one would think that you would at least try to get better. What chores were you able to finish?" came the reply of a lady putting in her earrings in front of a mirror.

"I am trying. I was able to feed the horses and I'm working on laundry at the moment."

The women sighed, "And now you're talking back to me. I really wish I knew who had raised you. I would give them a mouthful. I swear sometimes, you act as if you don't know how to do stuff like this. It's like you were born in a palace or something."

"I'm sorry." Was the quick, quiet reply.

The lady sighed again, "Nevermind, just go and get the chores done."

Ring!

"Oh, and get the door will you dearest. I'm sure you can at least do that much correctly."

The girl just bowed and ran back down the stairs. She opened the door and was instantly pushed aside as two burly men in guard uniforms barged into the house. They slammed the door and turned to the shy girl who was shaking a little.

"Where is the head of the house." The guard commanded just as the lady of the house appeared at the top of the stairs.

"That would be me and who might I ask is wondering?"

"We are the guards of the new Prince." The other one stated in a firm voice.

"Oh!" the lady exclaimed, rushing down the steps and curtsying before them. "And might I ask why I am so honored to be visited by the prince's guards?"

One of the guards stepped up to the lady of the house, towering over her. "We have come to see if there are any eligible ladies in this house around the prince's age of eighteen.

"Why yes! I have a very beautiful daughter. She is of the age eighteen and still has yet to find that lucky man." The lady replied and winked at the guard before continuing, "Is the prince interested?"

"Hardly." Was the other guard's blunt reply as the lady gave him a look of shock and questioning before the guard continued, "The prince requires that we take one eligible girl around his age from each home until we have our quota. They will then be brought to the castle as slaves."

The women gave a look of pure dread before composing herself and replying with a wave of her hand and a chuckle, "Well I have many eligible slaves to spare, take two or three. I don't mind really."

"I'm sorry miss," The guard replied, "but slaves just won't do. We don't want the prince to have already used goods. So go fetch your daughter and we will be on our way.

The older lady's eyes filled with worry at the thought of her daughter becoming a slave until another thought crossed her mind.

The shy girl watched from the corner of the room as the head of the house looked her way and a sly smile crossed her heavily make-up covered face. She let out a sympathetic sigh and shook her head. "Then I guess there is no choice." She said and walked towards Hinata, grabbing her arm and pushing her forward. "Here she is, my daughter."

Hinata's eyes widened and she shook as the guard's stared at her skeptically before asking, "This is your daughter?"

"Why of course! I did say she was beautiful and although she is quite dirty, once she is cleaned up I assure you she is as I say."

"Oh, why yes." The guard stuttered to say the right thing, "I, well she is quite beautiful, but I just assumed by the way she was dressed, I mean her clothes… I me…"

"Oh yes! Well the clothes are just dirty from playing outside. My daughter has quite a free spirit and is always wandering off. So I've at least taught her that her dress clothes are not to be warn while running around outside. She just got back in and was about to change when you arrived at our doorstep."

Both guards seemed think it over for a moment before agreeing that was a reasonable excuse and snatching Hinata away from the lady of the house. They drug her outside to a carriage and threw her inside it.

Hinata went and huddled in the corner with no objections. She may have had to leave everything she owned behind but it wasn't the first time. Besides, living at the castle couldn't be much different. She would just have to clean a little more than usual but no matter where she was, she was a slave. She sighed and shivered a little as her mind also filled with doubtful thoughts. She started to tremble at the thought of working at the castle. She had never been that coordinated and seemed to mess up things frequently. What if she messed up on her chores at the castle? What would they do to her? Her thoughts only increased as other girls were thrown into the cart, some crying, others screaming, and a lot begging to stay with their families. _'Oh no,' _she thought, _'what am I going to do?'_

**In a small town in the Fire Country**

"Good Day Sakura!"

The pink haired girl looked up as she closed the door of her home. "Good morning!" she said with a cheery smile.

"Where are you off to today?" The young man asked.

"I'm going out to the fields to pick some ripe vegetables for dinner and some herbs for tea and medicine for mother." She replied, putting on a hat to shield her pale face from the sun.

"Oh yes!" the elder beside the younger man replied, "How is Mrs. Haruno? Is she doing any better perhaps?"

"I'm afraid not," The girl replied, "but my father and I have been working hard on making our crops larger so we have enough to eat and can spend more time at home, taking care of mom."

"Oh, well we'll leave you to get your herbs. Please tell your mother to get well soon and tell your father that we said hi." The elder replied walking off with his son.

"Oh I will! Thank you! Bye!" After they left, Sakura ran off to the edge of town to their fields. She ran through them picking different vegetables and placed them in the basket. She went over to the herb section that they started growing. It was pretty small but it had enough herbs to make a medicine that could ease up the symptoms of whatever disease the girl's mother had. Sakura had just gotten done with placing the last of the herbs she needed into her basket when she looked up startled by the sound of trumpets. She quickly picked up her baskets and ran off towards the town where the noises were coming from. As she got closer to the town, she started to hear sounds of shouts and faint screams. Her pace increased as the sounds grew more audible. She reached the town and saw women being dragged off to carriages. Husbands were on their knees begging guards to let their daughters go and younger children crying in their parent's arms. Sakura looked across the town square and saw the door to her house wide open.

"Mama!" she gasped as she raced towards the house. As soon as she barged through the already opened door she stopped.

"Sakura!" her father exclaimed

"Papa what's going on here?" She asked as she looked at two burly guards, one wearing a chiefs' uniform. The chief gave a shocked look before it turned into a fierce glare directed towards Sakura's father.

"You said you had no daughters!" The guard snarled hitting the old man to the ground, "You want to know what the punishment for lying is around here." He asked reaching for his sword. He drew it out of its sheath and raised it up above the man.

"No!" Sakura screamed catching the guards arm as he brought it down, "Don't kill him!"

The guard looked into the girls mesmerizing eyes before lowering his sword gently. He turned around with a huff and shoved his sword back into his sheath while replying, "I am feeling generous today so I guess we can say that having your daughter instead of your life is a fine trade."

"Sakura run." The man on the ground coughed out.

"What?"

At that moment another man came out of a different room, "There's a lady back there, but she's really sick. If you ask me, she won't last much longer even lying in bed."

"Mother!" Sakura exclaimed picking up here basket of herbs and trying to push past the guards who grabbed her by the arms.

"Where do you think you're going girly?"

"My mother, she's very sick. Please, let me through. I need to make her medicine or she won't get better. I have the herbs right here."

"I'm sorry but you're coming with us." The chief replied as the guards dragged her towards the door.

"No! I must go make her medicine! Please!" Sakura shouted as the chief grabbed her chin roughly and made her look at him.

"Look here girly. I spared your father's life, so he can take care of your mommy and you're coming with us whether you like it or not."

"But father doesn't know which herbs to mix. Please I beg you! I need to be here! My family needs me. Father can't do everything around the house, in the fields, and take care of mother. He needs my help."

The head guard just ripped the basket from the girl's hands and threw it to the ground. The contents spilt all over the floor as the chief just replied, "Well that's just bad luck isn't it. We can't waste all day and you are coming along." With that said the chief strutted out the door and the guard's drug along the screaming girl.

Sakura all of the sudden became extremely limp in the guards arms, startling them to loosen their grip, before she jerked out of their grasp and ran towards the house. As she made it to the steps another guard tackled her to the ground. He held her arms behind her back as he lifted her up onto her feet.

"It's pointless trying to escape girl." The chief stated smirking in front of her. She smirked and kicked him in the shin. As he bent over in pain she kneed him. When she brought her knee back down, she slammed it into the guard's foot causing him to curse and let go. Another guard was quick to move and dove for the girl. She was tackled down once again as this guard placed shackles on her arms and feet. The chief lifted her up and slapped her across the face.

"You wicked girl. You better learn your place soon or you'll be dead." He shouted as he tossed her in a carriage with other crying girls around her age and they rode off to the Fire palace. Sakura tried to bust out of the shackles but it was no use. Instead she just tucked her hair inside her hat, brought her knees to her chest and cried silently with the rest of the girls.

**Now the story's finally going to start! Haha! That's it for the chapter! Please Read and Review! Feel free to ask questions and I'll try to answer them in following chapters! =) Also sorry if you find it a bit cheesy (I almost find it that way too but I think I'll get better). **


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm back with another chapter. The story can really, finally start. Woo-hoo! Please enjoy! =)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

**My Prince Charming**

**Chapter 3**

**In the Wind Country**

"Sire, the council says that they need you in the ballroom so that they can go over the rules with the new servants"

Neji just nodded his head and followed the guards.

"Okay, all of you out! Keep in a single file and follow the guards." Bellowed the chief guard as other guards helped the women out of the carriages.

"Hey! Back off buddy! We're not that close of friends! You at least have to buy me dinner first!"

The chief turned to see the bratty brunette getting out of the carriage, refusing to have any help from the guards as she jumped down to the ground.

"Make sure you watch over that trouble maker. I wouldn't put it past her if she tries to escape." The chief ordered

"Yes sir!" Two guards replied and rushed over to both sides of the brunette.

"Oh aren't I lucky. I get extra special attention." The girl replied, winking at one of the guards.

The head guard marched up to the girl, leaned down to her level and replied in a gruff tone, "Don't try anything stupid girl."

The brunettes face became serious as she replied back, "Yes sir! No stupid stuff sir! Unlike you, I have grown up with a brain instead of a potato sir!"

The guard growled as the girl was marched away by the other two guards to the castle.

**In the Earth Country**

"Prince, are you sleeping?"

"Sleeping."

"Okay sir, well it's about time to wake up and give the new comers a proper welcome."

The lazy prince sighed and rolled out of bed. "I'll be down in a minute."

"Come on ladies! One at a time please." The guards shouted as they lifted the girls out of the carriage.

"Please be careful miss." One guard replied, trying to help the blonde getting out on her own.

"Oh please, don't try to act polite. You guys are the ones that threw us in the carriages so why don't you just throw us out of them too." The blonde glared at the guard after she spoke but silently followed the group of girls. There was nowhere else to go anyway.

**In the Water Country**

Crash!

"Wha… Oh! Kagiro! I'm sorry! I was in a … wait a minute? What are you doing up here?"

"I have come to retrieve you sir."

"Huh? What for?"

"The carriages have arrived."

"The car… oh, those carriages. Ugh! I was just about to go swimming!"

"I'm afraid to say, that will have to wait sir."

"Aw man!" Naruto threw his hands in the air as he turned around and marched back to his room to get changed back out of his swim shorts.

"All girls out of the carriages!"

Hinata let the guards help her out of the carriage as she silently fell in step with the other girls.

**In the Fire Country**

"Prince, you are needed in the main hall to greet the new servants." An old lady stated, as she walked towards the prince resting on the ground.

"I don't want to."

"You don't have a choice." The lady stated with authority.

Sasuke opened one eye and glared with much intensity at the old lady before closing it again and replying, "I'm prince. I'm boss. I'm not going."

"Very well." The lady bowed respectfully and started to walk away. "Chigura, please fetch Karin for me. Tell her the prince would like to see her."

"Yeah, I'd like to see her alright."

The elder jumped at the voice right behind her.

"Burning in hell would be preferable." The prince finished as he started walking towards the castle. "If you go get her… you're fired." He stated bluntly to the younger maid as he walked by. The older maid followed him in step.

"I thought I told you to fire her." Sasuke growled.

"Why would I? She's such a sweet girl."

"Not her. Karin."

"Well that would be the head maid's choice and she hasn't seen the need to fire the girl quite yet." The lady stated simply.

"Why are you on her side?"

"I'm not on anyone's side sir. I just still find her useful."

"For what?"

"For situations like this."

"Like this? You mean when you want to get your way?"

"No," the elder replied, "like for when you don't do as I say."

"That's the same thing." Sasuke huffed.

"Yes, but when I say it, it comes out sounding much more polite."

Sasuke just rolled his eyes and replied, "If you hadn't been working here for so many years, you'd be fired by now."

The older woman chuckled at this. "Oh really? I always thought that the reason I was not fired yet was because your parents put me in charge of picking the next head maid and if you got me angry Karin would be my next choice."

Sasuke continued to glare at the wrinkled lady as she kept giggling to herself.

"Time to get out, we are here! Get a move on it Ladies! Out we go, to the main hall!" The ladies got out of the carriages one by one.

"Is that all of them?" the chief asked.

"Not quite." A guard replied, "There's still one more."

The chief walked over and looked in the carriage where he saw the pink haired girl; arms and legs still shackled. "Get up girl! It's time to go!" he commanded. When the girl didn't make any sign of movement the chief jumped into the carriage.

Just as the guard was about to grab her she spoke, "If you even touch me, you'll regret it later."

"Try me." The head guard shot back picking her up and tossing her to the ground outside the carriage. He jumped out of the back and picked her up again by the back her shirt collar, not even trying to be gentle due to he was still angry at the girl for the way she behaved earlier.

"Let me go! Let me go you monster!" Complete malice leaked out of her voice as she shouted.

"Monster?" the guard questioned.

"My mother was sick! She could die! Take me back! Take me back now or so help me, I will make this entire castle miserable."

"Then you will die." The girl froze once she heard this and the guard continued, "That's more like it. Just behave yourself, do as you're told and you'll be fine. Don't be such a nuisance just because you miss your mommy. She's probably dead by now anyway." He looked down at the now stone froze girl. Tears started to stream down her face as she just let them carry her to the castle. _'Finally, she is starting to learn her place.'_

**In the Wind Country**

"Ladies, welcome to the Wind castle. From today onward you will be working for your prince as one of his many servants. Now we should start off with some rules." A Wind elder announced as the ballroom quieted down.

"Now pay close attention to this. You're going to need to." The chief stated to the brunette who just rolled her eyes.

"Rule number one: All maids must be at your assigned place at the assigned time. We do not tolerate those maids that are late.

Rule number two: All maids must be respectful and courteous to the prince." The elder announced.

"Hey! That is forbidden area to your grimy piggy hands!"

The announcer froze as he heard someone shout over the ballroom.

"Hold you tongue!" the chief shouted to the brunette who was throwing a fit.

"No way! Someone just tried to grope my ass! I don't know who it was but that is forbidden area you disgusting little porker!"

Neji looked up with an amused smirk, searching for where the voice might be coming from. He called the elder over and whispered in his ear.

"Will the disrupter please be brought forward?"

"You've done it now brat." The guard mumbled and pushed the girl all the way to the front of the room.

"What did I do? Someone was violating me! There are no rules that say maids have to tolerate that!" The brunette defended.

"You disrespected the prince! Now bow and show your respect for him."

The brunette just smiled but made no point to move. "It's said that the deeper you bow, the more respect you show. So what would one do if they had no respect for the person they're bowing to I wonder." The chief growled and pushed the girl to the ground, where she fell on her knees. "What was that for?"

"You unpleasant little…"

"Hey nickname calling isn't nice!"

"You're supposed to be respectful and courteous!" the guard commanded.

"Yeah, I know, I listened. I have to be respectful and courteous to the prince. There is nothing in the tiny bold print that says "plus, you must treat the fat guard as the prince because he thinks he's next in line for the throne."

The prince smirked to himself. This maid always had something to say that's for sure.

**In the Earth Country**

"Rule number seven: You must always where your maid clothes. We have given you all two sets of work clothes and two sets of night clothes and placed them both on the beds in your room. You will pick out your rooms by the clothes size you wear." The elder announced as he held up an outfit for all to see.

"What!" Ino gasped, "I only get to wear servant clothes, and I only get four sets! Not to mention they're green! How am I going to survive this?"

**In the Water Country**

"Rule nine: If the prince approaches you, you must bow and if he talks to you, remember to reply immediately."

"What!" Hinata stuttered to herself, "Talk? To the prince! Oh-no."

**In the Fire Country**

"Now that we have finished the rules, there is one more thing that needs to be said before we send you off to your rooms. Over time, the princes will be watching over you so he can decide a personal maid for himself."

Sasuke scanned the crowd after the elder said this and saw the younger girls faces light up with hope. He almost grimaced until something caught his eye. His eyes were drawn to someone wearing a hat. It looked like a young boy around his age. _'Didn't I tell them I only wanted them to bring back girls?'_ Sasuke thought, but decided not to mention anything as he continued watching the young boy. The boy was on his knees and his head was hung low, with two guards standing beside him, one of the guards being the chief. As Sasuke studied the boy some more he came to realize that the boy's arms and legs were shackled. The chief then bent down and whispered something in the boy's ear as he lifted the boy's chin to look at him and Sasuke's eyes widened. The boy glared at the guard with tears streaming down his face. Sasuke snapped out of his trance and put his attention back on the elder.

"So make sure that you stay on your best behavior and one lucky girl will get to be the prince's personal maid. Isn't that wonderful?"

'_As long as it's not me.'_ Four particular girls thought at the same time.

**That's all for this chapter!**

**Just to make sure everyone knows what's going on, here are some things I have decided to answer just in case people have some questions.**

**All the rules are the same in the castles, maybe in a different order but that doesn't matter and yes I only stated a few of the rules.**

**If you want to know what the maid out fit's look like:**

**-the work clothes look like (well try and imagine Jasmine's outfit from Aladdin with the shirt that shows the stomach and the low V cut pants and the belt with the gem in it along with the headband with the gem in it.) You can be creative with the shoes. Right now I'm just thinking they don't have shoes.**

**-the night clothes are basically the same thing as the work clothes but just keep the same colors and switch them around (ex: If an outfit is black and red, what was black, is now red and what was red is now black.)**

**3) The color of the outfits are:**

**-Ino: Mostly dark green with a gold belt and headband and dark green gems**

**-Hinata: Mostly Orange with blood red belt & headband and orange gems**

**-Tenten: Mostly white with a blood red belt & headband and clear gems**

**-Sakura: Mostly black with a dark blue belt & headband and clear gems**

**Please R&R =)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Here's another chapter. =)**

**Disclaimer: I do no own Naruto… obviously… =P**

**My Prince Charming**

**Chapter 4**

**In the Fire Country  
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Sasuke was walking through the castle. Nothing really changed since the new maids came, but then again nothing ever changed when the new maids had been brought into the castle. Sasuke looked out to the garden when he spotted something very interesting. A young lad was climbing the vines on the wall that led out of the castle. It was the same young lad that Sasuke had seen in the back of the throne room the day his new maids had been brought in. Sasuke leapt over the little ledge and ran through the garden. The boy was so preoccupied in finding the next sturdy vine that he did not hear the approaching figure.

"Wouldn't it be easier to just use the front gate?"

"Ahh!" The boy yelped in shock as he lost his grip and fell. He got up and brushed off his clothes while glaring at the young prince who stared back in shock. This boy's eyes were a stunning emerald color and very unusual looking compared to any other guy's the prince had seen. Not only that, but this young lad had the nerve (or stupidity) to actually glare at the prince. He broke out of his trance to see the dirty boy gracefully stride towards him and place a hand on his shoulder

.

"Well then, would you be kind enough to show me the way out?" the calm voice of the boy asked. Sasuke was about to reply when a shout came from behind.

"Unhand the Prince!"

At the sound of the voice the young boys shining eyes widened as he tried to make a break for it through some bushes where some guards happened to be waiting. They brought the violently struggling boy back to the prince and head guard. The head guard then marched up and grabbed the boy by the collar of his shirt and slammed him into the wall he was previously climbing.

"So this is where you were hiding?" he replied glaring daggers at the boy who glared back with just as much intensity. *if not more*

"Well aren't we all glad that you're such an expert at hide and seek. That's a talent every good guard needs to have." Came the breathless, sarcastic reply receiving him a punch to the face.

"Watch your tongue bitch! You're in enough trouble as it is! Why aren't you in your uniform? You need to learn your place girly." He snarled and he kneed the boy in the stomach, knocking the wind completely out of him as the prince stood there processing the new information.

'Bitch? Uniform? Girly? This young lad that had scaled the wall, back talked the guards, glared and touched him had been a Girl! A Slave?

The guards were carrying off the gasping boy when the prince once again had found his voice.

"Send the girl to her room to get properly dressed. Then have some maids escort her to my room for the night if you would."

"But young mast…"

"That's an order." The prince replied with a glare and walked off.

**In the Water Country**

"Ugh…"

"What is it sir."

"There has GOT to be something fun to do around here." The Blonde said getting up from his chair.

"I'm sure you will think of something Naruto." Said Kagiro, his butler. Naruto preferred girl servants but Kagiro was an exception. He was Minato's personal butler and good companion. He practically raised Naruto since his parents' death. He was like a second father. Naruto needed him and so he was allowed to stay in the castle with the young lord.

"I think I'll go outside and swim in the lake. Please send out a maid with a towel later." Naruto said walking into his bathroom with some swim shorts.

"Of course. How long should I wait before I send one?"

"I don't know. An hour should be good I guess." Naruto called from the bathroom.

"Of course." Kagiro replied again before heading out the door. Right as he was about to close the door Naruto came out of the bathroom and called for him.

"What is it?" Kagiro asked

"Make it someone interesting."

"Of course Naruto." He replied closing the door and starting his search to find someone "interesting".

**In the Earth Country**

"EEEEWWW!"

Shikamaru opened his eyes at the sound of a girl shrieking.

"Who would pick such an awful color to wear?"

Shikamaru sighed and sat up looking around. A few seconds later a blonde came striding up over the hill he was resting on.

Oblivious to the young prince, the girl kept marching and screeching at nothing.

"I mean this is a castle of girls! Girls don't usually pick green as their number one color. This is humiliating! If anyone back home saw me now they'd laugh! Not only am I forced to wear such a hideous color but it's such an awful fit and it's so plain."

"Do you have a problem with your work clothes?"

"Why yes I do. They are very grotesque!" A few milliseconds past before the blond realized her mistake and slammed a hand over her mouth. Her eyes shot open and she stared at the boy sulking over to her.

"Green happens to be my favorite color." He drawled out lazily staring at her.

Seeing that this boy showed no sign of anger towards her earlier words, but just uninterest gave the blonde enough courage to pull her hand away from her mouth and state her opinion. "Well green happens to be my least favorite color. It's too masculine for a girl to be wearing."

The boy just stared at the girl for a minute before letting out a little snort. "Ha... Aw Man. You almost sound like my mom. She hated those outfits as well and she always made sure we heard her opinion."

"Is your mom a maid here too then?" the blonde asked out of curiosity.

The boy stared at her for a minute before chuckling. "My mom! A maid! Ha! That would be a scary site to see. A maid running the castle, much less the entire country. I don't think so. My mom's the Queen."

It took a little while for the information to sink in with the blonde but once it did she was off blabbing again. "But that would mean that you're the prince!"

"Yeah, it would." The boy said again losing interest.

"But you don't look like a prince. I mean aren't you suppose to be wearing fancy clothes and what not?"

The boy sighed and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but if anyone caught me out on the grass in nice clothes I'd be lectured. Besides all that fancy clothes stuff is just a pain. I'm a prince so I shouldn't to be forced to wear that stuff. I should get to wear what I want."

"Yeah well the same goes here mister." The girl replied with a snort.

"But I'm a prince. I should get a choice. You're just a slave." The boy replied not even thinking.

"What!" the girl blew up yelling, "What do you mean you should get a choice because you're a prince! What makes you so special?"

The boy just looked at her like she was retarded then slowly repeated, "I'm a prince…"

This caused the girl to burn with fury. "You self centered Jerk!" she shrieked shoving him… hard. However she shoved him so hard that she fell too and they went rolling down the hill.

Splash!

"AAAIIIEEE! GROSS! WHAT IS THIS?"

"This would happen to be the swamp." Shikamaru replied standing up with annoyance written all over his face.

"EEWW! IT STINKS!" The girl shrieked

Shikamaru just got out and started walking away.

This caught the blondes' attention as she ran after him. "Hey, where do you think you're going?"

"To go bathe. Where else would I go?"

"Well what about me?"

"What about you?" the young prince questioned.

"What am I suppose to do?" the girl asked exasperated.

"My best guess would be to go bathe also." He replied before turning and walking away again until he heard her mumble something. "What was that?" he asked

"I said I don't know where the showers are." She mumbled a little louder.

"Then go ask one of the other maids." He replied

The girl just stared at him as if he had grown another head. "But I can't let anyone see me like this!" she squealed, horrified at the thought.

"That is not my problem. It was your temper which caused us to tumble into the swamp in the first place." He replied walking away again. He was a couple feet away when he heard a familiar sound. A stifled cry and a small whimper. His Mom used to make those sounds when things didn't go her way or when she was sad. Shikamaru turned to see the girl curled up into a little ball on the grass. Her hands were covering her head. It sure sounded like his mom but this girl was still different. When his mom didn't get her way, she'd keep bugging his dad and fighting with him until she did. However, this girl just silently admitted defeat and gave up.

The girl hid her face and silently cried until she felt the presence of someone beside her. She looked up to see the prince with his natural look of disinterest.

"Come on." The prince replied sticking out his hand.

"Wha..."

"Just come on. You don't want anyone to see you right. So hurry up and follow me before I change my mind."

To say that the girl was shocked would be an understatement. However, that did not stop her from taking his hand. As he dragged her around empty halls in the castle she swore she heard him mumble a quiet "troublesome". She couldn't help but smile a small smile.

**In the Wind Country**

"Catch her!"

Neji opened his eyes to see two guards chasing a young brunette around the courtyard. He sighed as he stood up. This girl always seemed to get into trouble. He was just taking a break from training when this ruckus appeared out of nowhere. The girl ducked and dodged the guards coming at her left and right. He had to admit she was pretty good. She looked like it was just instinct to not let anyone touch her. She finally looked his way and he saw a strange gleam in her eye as she ran towards him.

"Sire! Watch out!"

Neji got in a stance as the girl got closer. She ducked as he struck at her and then she shot up and placed her hands on his shoulders, jumping and flipping herself over him. He turned around to see her wink before she ran off again. 'What amazing upper body strength.' Neji thought dumb founded before locking his eyes on the girl running away. She pulled something out of her pocket that made Neji check his own. Sure enough his kunai pouch was gone. '_So that's why she seemed so smug._' The Brunette took out a kunai stopping with a dangerous shimmer in her eyes, causing the guards to halt and look at her cautiously.

"Come any closer and you'll be asking for your death sentence."

"You couldn't possibly kill us. You're just a girl. Girls don't know how to handle weapons." A guard bravely said as he took a few more steps towards the armed girl. A kunai then made its way through the air barely nicking the guards ear.

"Do you want to run that by me again?" The girl said dangerously, "I couldn't hear you."

The guards froze. Not a sound or any sign of movement escaped them. The girl laughed clearly amused, "Is that all. Are you not going to tell me that was a lucky shot? Do you not want another demonstration? If you wish to see some more, I'd be happy to show you. Where should I aim next? Huh? Maybe your eye? Or his forehead? Or possibly your heart?"

"Put that down!" A guard shouted stepping forward a few steps.

"I warned you not to come any closer!" the girl shouted as she raised her arm with the kunai and threw it at the man.

Seconds later her body fell limp as Neji caught her, having been the one that knocked her unconscious by hitting a pressure point in her neck.

"Young Master! Are you alright?" the guards asked, scrambling towards him.

"I'm fine." Neji answered while gently laying the girl down and walking over to the injured guard that the girl had thrown her last kunai at. He was kneeling down with a hand over his face. "Are you alright?" Neji asked.

The guard looked up at the young lord before replying, "Yes, it only grazed my cheek." He took away his hand to prove his point.

"I see." Neji replied with a sigh as he looked at the unconscious girl. "Amazing."

"Thank You!"

Neji turned back around to see the guard on his knees bowing in gratitude.

"If it wasn't for the young master knocking her out she might've actually killed me. I am eternally grateful!" The guard shouted.

"No." was the prince's reply as the guard looked up at him in confusion, "I did nothing to help steer her aim. I'm not the one you should be thanking. It should be her. She spared your life. If she really had wanted to, she could have killed you with the flick of her wrist before I knocked her out." Neji turned and started walking back to the castle. "Bring her to my room immediately. I would like to talk to her in private when she awakens."

"But Sir! She's a killer!"

"She spared your life."

"She's Insane!"

"Maybe," was Neji's reply, "but that doesn't change my order. Do not disobey my command." The prince left no room for further discussion as he walked away.

**Ok well that's it for today. I'll probably only post up one chapter at a time from here on out. The more reviews I get the faster I'll probably be posting but I can't give anyone a specific date on when I post (such as once a week) because I have high school and college classes that I'm still trying to keep up in.**

**Also I have a feeling this story is going to be a challenge to write because since there is no main pairing it almost seems as if I'm writing four separate stories.**

**As you can probably tell by now I have tried to give each character there own personality and perspective of each other so it doesn't get to repetitive having the same thing happen to all the girls.**

**Read and Review Please! =)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Here's a longer chapter than the other ones. I hope you enjoy! =)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

**In the Fire Country**

Sasuke had just gotten out of the shower and was getting dressed when he heard a loud crash outside his room.

"Take it off!"

"Don't you dare touch me! Get any closer and I will... Hey! Let me go!"

Sasuke slipped on some pants and opened the door to see two guards pinning the girls arms, one guard unconscious *no doubt by being thrown into the wall*, and one guard walking towards her.

"What's going on here?" Sasuke asked with slight annoyance.

The guard turned in surprise and tried to explain. "Nothing really sir, it's just the girl refuses to take off her hat."

"Then let her keep it on." Sasuke replied calmly as he turned back around to walk back into his room but before he did he looked back over his shoulder at the girl who was staring at him in surprise and said, "I'll get her to take it off. Come in."

The girl then was shoved into the room where the prince calmly shut the door behind them.

"You know," he started out, "the maids are only allowed to wear the clothes that they receive here. I'm afraid hats are not allowed. Only your work clothes and night clothes that have been provided by me. Which has brought to my attention that I have called you to my room for the night and yet you come to me in work clothes?"

The girl glared at the prince and then over at the wall before replying. "I have no intention what so ever to sleep in this room, therefore; my night clothes are not needed."

"Well then I'm sorry to tell you that you will not be leaving until sunrise. Guards are outside this door so don't think of escaping and as for the balcony, I have locked the door and have no desire to tell you where the key might be but you are free to look for it if that is what you want. Either way you'll be in this room until morning." The prince said with a smirk gracing his lips causing the girl to growl. Sasuke then chuckled, walked over to the girl, and stopped leaning down a bit to look her straight in the eye. "However, you are not free to keep the hat. Take it off."

"I refuse."

"Fine"

The prince then looked away and quickly raised his hand to knock the hat off the girls head but she dodged it and laughed.

"Did you honestly think I would fall for that? I'm not like all the other dumb girls here who are dazzled by your charm."

"Charm?" Sasuke questioned

"Well that's what the others have said. However I think they have mistaken charm for self conceited jerk."

"Is that so?" Sasuke chuckled. No one ever had the nerve to speak their opinion to the prince's face if it was not something nice yet this girl said what ever came to mind without flinching. Sasuke walked up to the girl who backed up until she stumbled on the bed where Sasuke pinned her. "So you're saying that being in my room does not help make you feel better even knowing that I'll be spending the night here as well?"

"Knowing that you are here makes the thought even more appalling for me." Was the reply from the girl.

"Well, that's a shame." Sasuke whispered as he flicked his wrist and knocked off her hat. The next thing that happened surprised the prince beyond belief as pink spread across the sheets. His eyes widened as the girl struggled underneath him.

"Your hair?" He whispered as he picked up a lock to examine, "It's pink."

"Yes it is! Now get off me you fat horse! You're squishing me!"

Sasuke looked down at the unique girl and saw smudges of dirt on her face indicating that she didn't bother to take a shower before getting dressed.

"Go take a bath. You may use my bathroom." Sasuke commanded as he got up off the girl.

The girl sat up and looked over at the prince then glared once again, "I told you. I have no intention of sleeping with you. So I don't need a bath."

"Yes you do." Sasuke replied, "You have dirt all over your face. You won't be sleeping with me but I refuse to let you sleep until you have bathed."

"What?" came the girls shocked reply.

"I wasn't planning on having you sleep with me. That goes against my morals. You just struck my interest in the garden because like you said, you are different from the other girls working here and I wanted to see if that was true or just an act."

The girls glare disappeared and her eyes widened in shock. She stared for a minute or so before breaking out of her trance and heading for the bathroom. She stopped right before closing the door and asked, "And what did you conclude in the end?"

"You are different from the others. You aren't my biggest fan and you have pink hair." Sasuke said with a little smirk at the end.

The girl paused, then replied, "I see." Before closing the door to the restroom.

Minutes later the girl came out with dampened hair. Sasuke walked over to her.

"You missed a spot." he said as he tried to wipe off the good sized smudge under her eye but realized it wasn't a smudge when the girl flinched as he put pressure on it. He then recalled back in the garden when the guard hit her for trying to escape. The girl looked away and started walking towards the door.

"Where do you think you're going." Sasuke asked

"I'm leaving." She replied, "You said that you weren't going to sleep with me didn't you?"

"Yes that's what I said but I wasn't lying when I said you were spending the night here." He said walking over to the bed and getting in. A few seconds later the covers were ripped away from his body and the pillow away from his head. He sat up to see the petite girl lay down on the floor with his pillow and covers.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like? I'm sleeping on the floor of course. What? Have you never heard of that before." She asked chuckling at the thought.

"Actually no, I haven't."

The girl sat up and stared at him in shock. "You can't be serious!"

"Well why would people sleep on the floor when there's a bed? Now get up here." Sasuke commanded.

"They sleep on the floor when they don't have anywhere else to sleep. For example you're using the bed so I'll take the floor."

"But you have my covers."

"So you have layers of covers on your bed."

"But they might get dirty. People walk on the floor. Covers aren't meant to go on the floor."

With that said the girl was left speechless. Was this prince serious? He sure sounded like he was. "Are you really that pampered? Covers are covers! Dirt is dirt! What is it with you?"

"What's that suppose to mean? The real question is what is it with you?"

The girl paused, looking down at the ground. It stayed silent for a couple of minutes before she replied, "Sorry, for a moment I forgot I wasn't talking to a human, but a prince."

"And what does that mean!" Sasuke accused.

"Princes aren't like real human beings! They're spoiled rotten! They don't know what reality really is! They live in their own fairytale world where everything goes their way! Which isn't surprising because they get what ever they please! Getting what you want whenever you want it only blinds you! It makes you happy and that blinds you from the reality that in this world there is more than just you! Other people are out there other than yourself but you never see that because you only know what lies in this castle of yours! There are others out there! Other humans that are less fortunate that have to go through pain and suffering that you can't even imagine just so they can make it though another day. Getting everything you want isn't all that great! It makes you self centered where you only think of yourself and no one else!" The girl shot back ferociously.

It was silent for a moment before Sasuke calmly replied, "So you think you know what a princes life is like huh?"

"Of course I do." She replied back, "Princes get whatever they want. Everything is all about them that they forget about others. They have the money and power to help so many others and yet so many are still suffering. They don't help anyone. More and more people are suffering outside these castle walls as time goes on. It's not getting any better but that doesn't matter because they can't feel the pain of normal commoners because they've never felt pain for themselves. A Princes life is perfect. You're life is perfect." The girl laid back down and pulled the covers over her head.

"You know nothing of me." Sasuke replied as he too laid down to get some rest. He leaned over to hit the light switch when he heard a faint whisper.

"Neither do you of me."

**In the Water Country**

"Ah. This feels great." Naruto was just wading in the lake, floating on his back. He loved the water and the rain. Luckily he was prince of the Water Country and it rained often. He dunked under the water, seeing how far across the lake he could make it before he needed air. He made it about three quarters before his lungs started screaming and he came up above the water. He sighed and smiled.

"This would've been pretty impressive if this lake was bigger." He laughed. He looked towards the shore to see a maid coming down to the lake holding a white bundle of fluff that Naruto could only assumed was his towel even though from the far distance it could be mistaken for a bunny shaped cloud. Naruto smirked at his amazing genuisness. Not many could think of something like that. In fact, Kagiro told him daily that he was one of a kind and extremely special. Naruto sighed thinking of the butler. '_What a nice guy._'

The young prince then remembered that a maid was waiting with a towel so he started swimming towards shore. Once he got close enough he called out to her with a grin, "Aw Man! The hours up already!"

The young girl looked up from the towel with wide eyes, almost as if she was frightened. The sun was reflecting in her eyes made them a silvery color and washed out her pupils, and her hair was short and a weird shade of black that looked more like a dark navy blue. As Naruto swam closer he realized that it wasn't the sun, but her eyes were actually light silver. As always, Naruto had to state what was on his mind.

"WOW! YOUR EYES ARE FREAKY!"

The girl quickly looked down at the ground and mumbled a quiet sorry. Naruto realized what he said and tried to make up for it.

"No! I didn't mean it that way! I like freaky! I mean not like freaky scary though."

The maid kept her head down and turned a dark crimson color.

"Oh! No! I didn't mean you're like freaky scary or anything! You're eyes are amazing!"

The girl looked up in shock and went pale. This time it was the blondes turn to be embarrassed as his own words sunk in and he turned red. He tried to think of something else to say and finally decided on just switching the subject

.

"So I'm guessing I should probably get out of here so you don't have to hold that towel all day right. Ha-ha."

"It's fine." Came a small voice.

"Huh?" Naruto looked up to see the girl once again looking down at the towel.

"I-I mean, i-if y-you would l-like to sw-swim some m-more. I c-can w-wait."

"Aw thanks, but I know you're just saying that cause you have to." Naruto chuckled scratching the back of his head.

"No, I-it's fine! R-Really! I d-don't mind a-at all!" the girl squeaked now fidgeting with the towel.

"Well okay! If you say so!" Naruto said with a cheeky grin, "Thanks!"

**In the Earth Country**

"Here we are."

"And exactly where is here?"

"My room."

"Oh."

Shikamaru opened the door and let the blonde in.

"Wow." Ino stared in awe, "This place is amazing!"

Shikamaru's room was enormous. It had a huge bed with dark green comforters, green curtains that covered the glass doors out to the balcony, a cream colored carpet and pretty plain walls. There was a closet and bathroom connected to his room both on opposite ends of the room. His bed was placed in the center of the room with the head board against the wall. It was pretty plain for a prince, but he knew that the girl was mostly impressed with the size of the room.

"It's nothing special."

"To you it's not, but to me this place is awesome!" The blonde squealed, "I wish I were a princess so I could get fancy stuff like this!"

"You'd fit the part well with the way you act." Shikamaru muttered while walking over to his closet to grab some clean clothes before tossing them on the bed. The blonde blushed at the princes' comment. "You take a bath first while I go get you some clean clothes. What size do you where?"

The blonde shrieked at the question. "A girl never reveals her clothe size to a man! That's embarrassing!"

Shikamaru stared at the girl for a moment then let out a sigh and started walking for the door. "Fine, just go take a bath then." The prince walked out of the room and the girl sighed before heading to the bathroom.

**In the Wind Country**

"ugh… what happened?"

The brunette sat up and rubbed her questionably sore neck. She looked around the gigantic room trying to process what had happened. It wasn't until she looked to her other side that she screamed and remembered everything.

"Ahhhh!" the brunette screamed backing up and falling off the bed. The prince was sitting with his back against the head board of his bed reading a book right next to where she was laying.

"Good day to you too." He said calmly as he shut the book and looked up at her with pale eyes watching her scramble to her feet and point an accusing finger at him.

"What did you do to me? Why was I in the same bed as you? I want answers and I want them now!"

He sighed and got up, crossing his arms and looking at her with no emotion written on his face. "Haven't you ever heard that it's rude to point fingers at people?"

The girl quickly put her hand down but kept her chocolate covered eyes on the man before her. She watched as the silver eyed boy stood up and went over to a large book shelf to put back his book. It was then that she finally realized what a large room they were in.

"Do you like it?"

The brunette looked back at the prince as he said this indicating to the room.

She sighed before replying, "Yeah, when I first woke up I though I might be in heaven."

"Oh really?"

"Yup," the girl replied, "I woke up and thought 'wow, what a beautiful room. I must be in heaven.' Then I turned around and saw you."

"Hn, what did you think then?"

"Nope, can't be heaven. You're here."

"What are you trying to imply exactly?"

The girl scoffed before answering, "You'd have to be out of your mind if you think they'd let you in."

Neji only glared at the girl but on the inside he was beyond furious. No girl had ever said something so insulting to him in his entire life!

He composed himself before stating, "You know, many girls think I resemble an angel."

The girl looked back at him confused and then rolled her eyes while replying, "I guess that's not surprising. Did you know that the devil was once an angel too?"

Neji couldn't believe the nerve of this girl.

"Did you even listen to the rules at the welcoming ceremony?"

"What?"

"Rule number two; always be respectful and courteous to the prince." Neji stated.

The hot tempered girl realized what he was talking about, "Oh that? Yeah, I listened but that doesn't mean I have to follow them. I'm hoping that maybe I'll get lucky and get punished."

Neji thought for a moment trying to process what the girl had just said until it clicked, "Why would anyone hope to get punished?"

The girl sighed, "You sure ask a lot of questions. If I get into enough trouble here they'll have no choice but to send me home."

"How do you know?"

"What else would they do? I mean the rumor might be that you're some cold-blooded

Creature, but after seeing you I can hardly imagine you'd be the type that would let them kill someone who is causing a little harmless trouble."

Neji thought for a moment. This girl spoke the truth; he did not tolerate violence unless it was absolutely necessary.

"Then you'll stay here tonight." He replied and went back over to the bed.

"What?"

"That shall be your punishment."

"What kind of punishment is that? Most girls would love to spend the night with you and you're considering it a punishment! That's insane!" The servant girl screamed.

"If this were any other case I'd agree but sending you home would be a reward. You also don't seem to mind getting a few bruises so physical punishment wouldn't work very well either."

"But…but…" The girl struggled to find the words, "That's still not a punishment!"

"If that's true then say it. Tell me how that cannot be a punishment for you. Tell me how you'd enjoy spending the night in my chambers."

The girl was finally at a loss for words. She didn't know what to say. If she refused to say what he wanted she'd have to stay the night here but if she did say what he wanted she didn't even want to think of the consequences. He'd never let her live it down, besides chambers? Couldn't he come up with a less suggesting sounding words like 'room' or maybe an evil sounding word like 'lair'. Nevertheless the girl knew that there was only one way out of tonight so she said what she'd needed to.

"I'd enjoy spending the night here so much that it couldn't be considered a punishment." She ground out through her teeth as she glared at the guy smirking on the bed.

He chuckled as he got of the bed and went to his closet. He grabbed his night clothes and headed for his personal bathroom.

"Well I'm glad to hear that you are going to enjoy yourself." He smirked.

"Wait! What? I still have to stay in here!"

"Of course," Neji replied turning around at the bathroom door, "Tonight you are my guest. You've already told me that you would enjoy it so much of you could stay. I don't want to disappoint my guest. That would be rude."

He closed the door and smirked to himself in satisfaction when he heard the screams and growls coming from the brunette in his room.

**In the Water Country**

"Hey, thanks for waiting for me to get out, sorry I took so long. I just love the water and I lose track of time when I'm swimming."

"It was n-nothing, I love the water too, it would have been mean to make you get out when y-you were having s-so much fun." Hinata replied quietly, not taking her eyes off the floor. Naruto looked over the silver eyed girl. She was so shy, yet really nice, and very interesting to him. 'Kagiro always did a fine job listening to orders.'

Naruto snapped out of his thoughts and decided to try and get the girl to loosen up a bit, "Really? You like water a lot too. Maybe you should join me next time then." He replied while sticking out his tongue in a playful manner. Hinata turned beat red on the spot which Naruto mistook for anger as he tried to find something else to say, "Well I mean only if you want. Even maids need some time off. I didn't mean to imply anything bad to what I said before… What is your name?"

"Huh?"

Naruto looked away trying to fight back his blush before stating, "Well, I'm pretty sure that you know my name and I was just wondering if perhaps I could learn yours." Silence filled the room for a minute or two.

"Hinata." Came the quiet reply.

Naruto paused for a moment before asking, "Is there a last name that goes with that?"

"Umm… uh… w-well…"

"Hey you! Servant girl! What are you doing talking to the prince?" A guard shouted running over to the two teens. Hinata turned crimson and started to fidget nervously. "Speak when you are spoken to runt!" the guard yelled raising his hand to smack the girl but another hand caught his wrist before it made contact with her face. Both the guard and servant looked over wide eyed to see the prince glaring daggers at the guard.

"Haven't you ever heard that guys aren't supposed to hit girls." Naruto growled out in a dangerous tone, "She was talking to me because I wanted to talk. Isn't one of the servant rules that you must speak to the prince when spoken to?"

The guard had fear in his eyes as he apologized.

"May I ask what this commotion is all about?"

The guard and teens turned around to see Kagiro staring intently at them. It was silent for a moment before Naruto released the guards' hand.

"If I ever see you try to lay a hand on her again you're fired."

"I understand your majesty." The guard bowed deeply as he replied and sauntered off.

Naruto's gaze became much softer as he looked back at the shy girl. "It's alright. He won't be bothering you anymore but I better get going. I'll see you around Hinata!"

She stood frozen as the prince gave a charming grin and walked away. She only broke out of her trance when the elder man started speaking. "Please come this way miss. I'll go show you where you'll find the list of chores."

Hinata silently nodded and followed the man down the hall.

"The prince is quite something isn't he?" the man chuckled. The girl looked down the hall that the prince disappeared down before looking back at the man and nodding with a gentle smile gracing her lips.

**In the Earth Country**

By the time Ino was out of the shower a knock came from the door. She was about to scream when she heard a girlish voice coming from the other side of the door.

"The prince has brought you a spare change of dress wear."

Ino quickly wrapped a towel around herself and opened the door enough to grab the clothes. She mumbled a quick 'thank you' and shut the door. Once she was finished getting dressed she stepped out and looked over to see Shikamaru rummaging through his large closet for some clean clothes for himself.

"Thank You." She replied randomly.

Shikamaru turned around, standing outside his bathroom. He shrugged his shoulders and looked away. "You're welcome. I did get the right size, right?"

"Huh?"

"Your clothes… they fit right?" He gestured to her outfit.

"Oh yeah, they're my exact size. How did you know?"

"I asked around for what quadrant you might be in. It was a little challenging describing you, since we have many, skinny, blue-eyed, long blonde haired servants. Luckily, they knew exactly who I was talking about when I said you were loud, complaining all the time, and hated your outfit."

Ino blushed in embarrassment and looked down at her feet as Shikamaru continued.

"You sure let everyone hear your opinion on things."

Shikamaru looked back up at the quiet blonde. She was barely speaking since they fell in the swamp.

He hated to admit it but her silence was agitating him greatly. He had always liked peaceful, quiet moments but the silence felt so unnatural when this girl was around. He guessed it must have been the loud first impression this girl made. Nonetheless it was driving him insane.

"Will you quit that?"

The girl looked up, puzzled by the question. "Quit what?"

"Quit acting strange."

"What are you talking about?"

"Just one look at you and people can tell you're below average but that doesn't mean you have to prove it."

"Hey!" Ino shouted. She didn't really get what Shikamaru was saying. He wasn't making any sense but she could tell the difference between when someone was just spouting nonsense and when someone was criticizing her.

"Not to mention…"

"Just wait a second!" The girl finally snapped, "You listen here you royal pain. You don't have any right to speak to me that way no matter how high you stat…"

"That's much better." Shikamaru interrupted

"What?"

Shikamaru sighed and replied, "I can't have you changing on me now. If you change who you are then I might not be able to find you the next time I want too."

"Wha…"

Shikamaru quickly corrected himself, "I mean you'd be like everyone else and it's really annoying when people try to be someone they're not."

There was an awkward silence and Shikamaru turned back around to head back into his bathroom when he heard her small whisper.

"Ino."

He turned back with a questioning glance.

"In case you ever need to find me." She replied and walked out of the room.

Both teens weren't quite sure of what was happening but whatever it was, it left them both grinning to themselves.

**In the Wind Country**

"Are you coming to bed?" Neji asked almost innocently yet trying to make it sound suggestive at the same time. He couldn't help it. He loved this girls' reactions. However this time she didn't say anything. Instead she sat on a chair at the other end of the room, her feet in the chair, arms wrapped around her knees, and her chocolate eyes peaking out above her arms, glaring daggers that had as much precision and aim as her throws with the kunai.

"I'm taking the silence as a no," the prince replied, "but if you get to cold you're always welcome here." He smirked before the girl retorted back.

"That's okay, the heat reaches over here, as you probably remember, one cannot escape the flames when they are in hell."

This time it was the princes turn to glare before he just turned off the light and tried to get some sleep.

**That's it for today! This story is very fun yet challenging to write. Shikamaru's and Ino's parts are a challenge to write since Shikamaru is so lazy and I'm trying to keep them in character. Believe it or not, so are Naruto and Hinata's parts since she is so shy.**

**You will also find that I will split some of the character POV in two or more and not others. It all depends on where their story ends. Keeping all the characters stories on the same day is so hard! **

**Anyways, Read and Review! And questions are always welcome! =)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Here's yet another Chapter. Please enjoy! Sorry for the shortness… I'll try to make the next one longer…**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

**In the Fire Country**

Sasuke woke up from a cold breeze.

'Wait? What? Breeze?'

Sasuke shot up out of bed and ran over to the balcony doors which were opened. He looked over the balcony but didn't see any sign of the pink haired girl. He sighed and walked back into his room to see the empty sheets on the floor. He looked over to his bed and saw something pinned to his headboard… With a kunai! He rushed over, dislodged the kunai from the wood and looked over the damage caused by that pink headed witch. She was going to have to make up for what she did. He read the paper which had neat writing scrawled on it.

_You have got to be kidding me! That was the "secret" hiding place. I found that in like 5 Minutes and any other girl here would've found that in 5 Seconds flat!_

_P.S. Find a better hiding place!_

**In the Water Country**

Hinata woke up early the next morning when she heard a rumble. She looked out the window at the dark clouds. A flash lit up the sky and another clap of thunder shook the sky. Hinata got out of the comfort of her sheets and dressed down into her work clothes.

Looking down at her attire made her smile and giggle inwardly. After yesterday, she realized that the prince was nice and had a kind heart. His character in general was naturally good, however she could not say the same about his sense of style. She looked back out at the dark sky and gave her outfit one last look before deciding if it was all bad or not but it wasn't until she took a step outside her door that she made her final judgment.

Maids filled the hall, all dressed in the same bright orange and blood red. It made the dark hallways look much brighter for sure.

'_I guess in a country that rains a lot and the dark clouds visit more than the sun these outfits almost compliment it. It kind of reminds me of the light you can always find in the dark.'_

Once again the girl silently giggled as she looked at all the people dressed to look like flames as she continued down the hall to go find her chores for the day.

**In the Earth Country**

Shikamaru grumbled as a bright light interrupted his sleep. He could swear that he was cursed somehow. All he wanted was to sleep in for one day (although sleeping in all days wouldn't be too bad either) but the sun was always there to wake him up. It gave a whole new meaning to the phrase "wake up sunshine."

Shikamaru couldn't even remember the last time that the sun wasn't there to wake him up in the morning. He did remember having rainy, cloudy days though. In fact there was a rainstorm the day before the new maids were brought into the castle but like always, before the day turns out all gloomy the sun was always there to give him a rude awakening and he happened to be cursed with a light sensor in his brain. If things got brighter when he was sleeping then he would naturally wake up from his slumber.

His dad always said, that besides his looks and lazy personality, he was like his mom.

He sat up and looked out at his balcony, remembering the day his dad had told him that while they were cloud gazing.

_**~~~~~Flash Back~~~~~**_

_Shikamaru was 12 years old and he was sitting on the hill outside the castle with his dad just relaxing and looking at the bright sky._

"_Now this is more like it." Shikaku sighed, closing his eyes and letting the sun bathe him in its warmth, "It's a nice day, there's plenty of clouds, plenty of sunshine, it's peaceful and quiet and your mom's inside torturing someone else for once."_

_Shikamaru gave a lazy grin to his father and then closed his eyes, mimicking the old man. _

"_Why did you marry mom if she always bosses you around and you always criticize her?_

"_It's our way of showing that we love each other."_

_Shikamaru took a glance at his old man. His IQ may be really high but sometimes his dad would say something too confusing for even him to understand. "I always thought fighting was a sign for showing that you're losing interest in each other?"_

_Shikaku gave a loud chuckle. "I guess that can be true for most but it's also said that a guy always likes to pick on the ones they love."_

_Shikamaru sighed and looked back up at the sky, "I guess, but that just sounds really troublesome, why go through the effort of criticizing a girl who will just get mad when you can just say what she wants to hear and be left alone."_

_Shikaku chuckled again, "Because when I tried that, your mother blew up in my face about how I was being a kiss-ass. It's just easier to get in fights by being honest to one another."_

"_But isn't telling the truth suppose to make a relationship stronger? Where you don't get into fights as much?"_

_Shikaku looked over at his son. He hadn't seen Shikamaru look so confused since he was a tiny lad. "Well son, sometimes the truth is hard to hear, especially from the one you love. Many people think love is based off of same interests but your mom and I are living proof that isn't always the case."_

_Shikamaru looked back over at his father and rolled over on his side. "People in the castle have been saying that you and mom fight constantly. They say that a couple can only take so many fights before they are finally fed up with it."_

_Shikaku finally realized what his son's point was. He rolled over on his stomach and propped himself up on his elbows. "So that's what this is all about?" Shikamaru looked down at the grass and Shikaku laughed before replying, "Don't listen to those rumors."_

"_But they aren't rumors." Shikamaru replied back, "You and mom do fight all the time. Every time I see you guys together you guys are arguing."_

_The king sighed, trying to think of the right words to say. "Listen to me Shikamaru. Those servants or whoever is saying all those things obviously don't know anything about your mom and I otherwise they'd realize that fighting is your mother's specialty. She beats me every time. It's her favorite pastime thing to do. Take yourself for example. You try to please your mother but she still argues with you too but she wouldn't give you up for anything in the world. She feels the same way for me too. At least I think she does." Shikamaru chuckled lazily with his dad before Shikaku continued, "And even if your mother ever got fed up with me, there's no way I'd ever let her go. She's annoying, bossy, hard-working, always running, always talking, the most troublesome girl I've ever met and even if I hate those qualities I couldn't think of a day without her. I hate all those qualities but I still can't get her out of my mind."_

_Shikamaru was confused beyond belief. Just where was this going exactly? If Shikaku was trying to reassure him, he was doing a terrible job at it._

_Shikaku realized this and changed the way he was putting things, "My point is when you love someone, it's not because they have the same interests as you, or even the same opinion as you. When you love someone, you can't get them out of your head. Whether you can only think of good things or bad things about someone, if you can only think of them it must be love."_

"_You know dad, I can't comprehend over half the things you say."_

"_That's because you over think things just like your mother. You're a lot like her."_

_Shikamaru scoffed, "Even more than I am like you?"_

"_Actually yes, believe it or not. Your laziness definitely came from me, so did your looks mostly, but your gentle features came from your mom, your smarts definitely came from your mom, and even your love for clouds came from her."_

"_What?"_

_Shikaku gave another lazy sigh, "I've been lazy my entire life, but your mom was the first one to ever take me cloud gazing. I have two loves in my life, your mother, and the clouds. I guess in a way your mom was the one who introduced me to the only love rival she'd ever have in her entire life, but even so she'd still always win. Besides I don't think I'd love the clouds as much if she wasn't there to watch them with me."_

_**~~~~~End of Flashback~~~~~**_

Shikamaru went out to the balcony and looked up at the sky. "The clouds are already so beautiful. Is there really someone out there that can make them look even more amazing?"

**In the Wind Country**

Neji woke up to a bright, peaceful mourning. The sun was shining and he rolled over to the empty spot on his bed. He wasn't too surprised at that since he went to bed with an empty space beside him. What surprised him was that when he looked up to the chair, the girl was still sitting there, and more than that she was still glaring at him!

"Good morning" he said, smirking innocently, "Did you sleep well?"

"It's morning. Can I go?" was the only reply he received.

"Please do." He raised his hand in the direction of the door and gave the slightest bow (almost as if he were a professional butler).

The girl just stomped out of the room without another word… except when she reached the door.

"Keep your hands off me you big tubs of lard! I got permission to leave this time!"

**That's all for this chapter… =) I love the reviews, they are very fun to read… Thank you very much readers… ^-^**

**To answer a question from a review: Yes… all the girls will get to meet sometime, when is still a mystery to me. =p I know how they will meet just not how I'm going to get to that part yet.**


	8. Chapter 8

**In the Fire Country**

'Where could she be?' Sasuke wondered as he paced around the castle to find the missing maid. It was still early in the morning so he decided to look in the dining hall first. Once he arrived maids were slowly exiting the room. He walked in and heard swoons and sighs from all corners of the room. He sighed and walked over the head maid. "Yuka-san"

The old lady turned around surprised and bowed, "Young master, what are you doing down here this early?"

"I'm looking for someone, a maid I met yesterday. Have you seen her?"

"Can you be more specific sir? Describe the girl, perhaps some of her features that stand out?" Yuka replied.

"She has green eyes and pink hair." Sasuke stated bluntly.

"Pink hair sir?" Yuka questioned. The prince just merely nodded his head so the maid continued, "Well many of the new maids have green eyes, but I'm afraid I have seen none with pink hair. Maybe she hasn't left the dining hall sir. Even though I think pink would be pretty noticeable around here, you may take a look around if you'd like sir. The only maids that have left have been the ones that were first assigned jobs around the castle."

'Figures' Sasuke thought, then remembered something that might be of some use, "By any chance, did any of the girls that left have a hat on."

Yuka seemed to think hard before remembering something, "Actually yes sir, there was this one girl that was wearing a dark green hat. She said that she got permission from the prince to wear her hat due to a sickness that caused hair loss, so I let her go."

Sasuke smirked. Most girls would die before saying something as embarrassing as them having a hair loss condition, but this girl definitely wasn't like most girls. "Do you remember her chore schedule for the day?"

"Not entirely sir, it was quite a schedule," Yuka replied, "but I do remember sending her off to the gardens I do believe. I thought that with the hat, she would do great for working outside."

"Thanks." Sasuke stated before walking off, not listening to anything else the elder might have to say.

'That's quite strange?' Yuka thought, 'He rarely ever says thanks to anyone.'

**In the Water Country**

"Oh no!" Hinata squeaked, rushing over to the other side of the vegetable patch. After going down to the castle dining hall and eating a quick meal, she checked her chore schedule for the day. It was pretty simple really; **#83 – Gardens (vegetable section – quadrant three).**

However; what wasn't easy was that it was pouring rain outside. Apparently when it was raining it was near impossible to work in the gardens so the maids assigned to the gardens that day had it off. All they had to do was put a tarp up over the section they were assigned to and they would be done for the day. All in all, it would have been an easy task since usually there were up to fifteen people in the enormous garden but rumors spread of the rain storm last night and so the maids assigned to the gardens set up the tarps before heading off to bed the day before which left poor Hinata to do her section all by herself in the middle of the rainstorm with the wind blowing everything about.

Another gust of wind came out of nowhere and blew up the other side of the tarp in which it flew towards Hinata colliding with her body and tangling itself around her. Hinata panicked as she tried frantically to get out of the tarp. She had no clue what she was doing. All the other tarps were pinned down firmly but when she went to get her tarp, there seemed to be no stakes left.

"Eeep!" Hinata squeaked again as she fell to the ground, failing miserably at getting untangled from the tarp. Some tears escaped her eyes when a voice came out of nowhere.

"I'm not sure how this gardening thing works exactly, but I think when it rains the tarp is suppose to go over the plants, not the person."

Hinata looked up with widened eyes and turned beat red. For the first time today she was thankful for the rain so that he could not see her tears. Naruto held out his hand for her to take and then realized that her arms were tangled up in the tarp too and settled for helping her out first.

"Who'd have thought we'd meet again so soon!" Naruto laughed while un-wrapping the tarp from around the petite girl. When he was completely finished he just stared at the tomato red girl in front of him. He just kept staring into the girls' eyes as an awkward silence crept over them before the girls' pale eyes averted to the side. This caused Naruto to snap out of his trance before replying seriously, "You know, things would have gone a lot smoother if you had used the stakes."

"There was none left." The shy girl replied looking down at her feet.

Naruto gave a quiet chuckle before kneeling to the ground and moving a patch of grass with his hand to reveal a silver stake already lodged in the ground.

"It rains so often around here that everyone decided it would be more convenient to just leave the stakes in the ground instead of taking them out every time and planting new holes in the ground after every rainstorm." He replied grabbing the tarp from Hinata and tying a string from one corner of the tarp to the silver stake. Hinata joined in and they finished it not even a minute later.

"I think it's time we headed back to the castle now, you're soaked to the bone." Naruto replied outstretching his hand for the girl to take. Hinata just stared at his hand, she couldn't actually take it. A servant and the prince holding hands were insane and she was sure it was improper too. After about half a minute, Naruto realized the girl was not going to take his hand so he just placed it on her shoulder lightly while slipping on one of his goofy grins. "Well come on then." He stated giving her a slight nudge before taking his hand off her shoulder and walking on ahead. It took Hinata a few seconds to recover before she went to catch up with him. When she did catch up he looked over and grinned his goofy grin at her. Most of the time when she saw that grin she felt like giggling, but this time it was different. His hair was matted down to his face and his clothes were sticking to his body. He was soaking wet and yet he still looked genuinely happy. The only word that Hinata could think of to describe him at that moment was cool.

Her thoughts were soon interrupted by the castle doors opening to let them inside.

"Well, this was fun." Naruto stated awkwardly trying to break the silence. The silent girl just nodded and Naruto's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh! That's right! Here!"

All of a sudden Naruto's fist was thrown into Hinata's vision. She jumped a little out of surprise before Naruto opened his hand revealing a beaded bracelet. "I think this is yours." He replied as Hinata reached up to take and examine the white bracelet while Naruto continued, "Every maid has one, they get one when they come here, but for some reason maid 83 still didn't have her bracelet. I heard some other maids talking about it who supposedly were suppose to give it to you but they didn't want to go out in the rain. I offered to take it and they said you went to the gardens. I never would have imagined it would be you though." He laughed and looked down at the girl who was tracing a finger over the navy blue number on it. "You know, I did tell them that it would be a lot nicer to have the girls' names on the bracelet instead of their number but they thought that would take too long."

Hinata just kept tracing the bracelet over and over again before finally replying, "You're really sweet." Naruto looked at her dumbfounded before she continued, "I mean, you went to give me this bracelet even though it was raining, and even helping me out when you got there even though you got soaking wet. You even helped me out yesterday too from that guard."

"Oh that! That was no big deal." Naruto brushed it off snorting.

"It was to me." Hinata whispered

"What was that?" Naruto questioned

"You're parents must have been great people to raise someone like you."

All of the sudden another wave of awkward silence washed over the two teens.

"They were great." Naruto replied completely serious, "No one could have ever asked for better." Hinata just merely listened as Naruto continued, "They were always there for me, always picking me up, teaching me the difference between right and wrong, and always leading the way. I guess it was just a big news flash for me when they were gone on how much I really relied on them. It's really weird to think that one day you can know exactly where you are and the next day you could be completely lost."

Hinata could hear the tinge of sadness and hint of loneliness in the prince's voice; the two words she would never have thought would go in the same sentence with the prince from the few encounters that they had before. "They would've been so proud at how well you turned out." She said reassuringly.

Naruto looked up at the naturally quiet girl. "You really think so?" The girl just nodded her head silently in reply but didn't avert her eyes. "I hope you're right, there hasn't come a day so far when I haven't wondered that. The one thing my parents always emphasized on was that one should always be themselves. After their deaths, I made a promise to them, that even if I can't do anything right I'd always be true to who I am. Since then I try to always be myself, because it's the one promise I know I can keep whether people like the real me or not."

Hinata smiled to herself thinking of this man in front of her. He was so admirable. At a first glance, one might think him to be a loud, obnoxious, (not to bright), trouble maker but once you got to know him you would come to find that he was a kind, optimistic, generous soul. Not to mention his confidence was unheard of and he was never afraid to speak what was on his mind; two qualities in which Hinata herself lacked majorly. Hinata slipped on the bracelet and then looked up to find Naruto starring at her again for who knows how long. Naruto once again snapped away from his trance, laughing and scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

"I guess we better go get changed then, before we catch a cold."

As if on cue, Hinata sneezed causing Naruto to laugh before sneezing himself. The both gave another small laugh before the small girl bowed and turned away, walking to the maid quarters of the castle. Naruto smiled to himself before sneezing again and heading to his room.

**In the Earth Country**

"What! That's totally not fair!"

Shikamaru paused. He knew that voice. He looked over towards where the voices were coming from. There he saw Ino yelling at the head maid who was in charge of all sorts of things including the chores schedule.

"Put me in the gardens!"

The head maid just simply shook her head and replied, "I'm sorry but you weren't assigned to outdoors today, maybe another time."

"No! Come on! I can't be working inside today; it's the perfect day to be outside! The sun is shining and there're plenty of clouds. I burn easily but with all the clouds they'll cover up the sun before my skin burns. I can't be working inside the castle on a beautiful day like this! It's my favorite type of weather and I refuse!"

The head maid glared at the blonde. Knowing that maid so well, Shikamaru knew that face and decided to get closer so he could here more of the conversation.

"If you continue to bug me I have the power to make sure you never go outside. You got that. You listen to me or you'll be scrubbing floors the rest of your life. When it comes to the maids in this castle, what I say goes."

Shikamaru could just hear the venom in this maid's voice. He heard the rumor of this maid's temper and how no one dare defy her. He continued to watch as the blonde growled in frustration, screaming colorful words and stomping off. After that little fiasco he looked up to the sky. The girl was right, it was the perfect day to be outside and did he hear her saying something about it being her favorite weather? Shikamaru thought back to the conversation that just took place.

'_Well at least Ino is back to her complaining old self, and anyone who is willing to try and stand their ground against Yuriko and be brave enough to state their opinion should at least get heard.'_

At least that was what Shikamaru thought, trying to come up with a way to justify what he was about to do next.

"Hey! Yuriko! Can I have a word with you?" he called running after the head maid.

**In the Wind Country**

Whack!

The brunette sat up quickly, waking up cursing at the new found headache. "What the hell was that for!"

"Sleeping on the job I see."

The brunette's eyes practically bulged out of her head at the sound of the arrogant voice. She looked up at the young prince and glared.

"What?" he asked with a smirk, "You didn't get enough sleep last night?"

"Shut up! It's all your fault! If I fell asleep, who knows where I would've woken up!"

"You think I would do that to you?" Neji asked in his usual calm, uncaring voice.

"Who knows what you'd do!" the girl answered exasperated.

Neji smirked again, "You have nothing that interests me."

By now the girl was infuriated. "I have nothing that interests you! Then why are you here! Why are you stalking me!"

"This is the court yard. I came here to train. If you don't remember, this is the first place we met." The prince replied, swinging around a tree branch that the girl just realized he was holding.

"Is that it?" she asked pointing at the branch, "Is that what you hit me with? A branch!"

Neji looked down at the branch, "well… yes…"

"It's quite convienient actually." He continued, "You see, if you were any ordinary maid, you would have done your job, cleaned this place up, and I wouldn't have found anything to wake you up with."

The brunette yanked the branch out of the young male's hand. "I get it already! I'll clean this place up so leave!"

There was a silent pause before Neji replied, "No."

"What do you mean no?" the girl asked with a dangerous hint to her voice.

"I came here to train," Neji answered, "and I'm not leaving until I get some training in but it's too messy to train right now so I guess I'll just have to wait until you're done." After saying that he went and sat under the big tree he found the girl sleeping by. The girl just screamed in frustration knowing that no matter what she had to say, it would not help her in this situation.

**In the Fire Country**

"You know that it states in the maid rulebook, that a maid is to never disobey the prince, and never bother the prince unless they want to be punished. You happened to have broken both those rules." Sasuke announced, walking up to a maid who was watering the flowers. Hedges surrounded both teens from all sides.

The girl turned around, her emerald eyes glaring from under her hat at the boy, "I did not disobey you. You said if I was to find the key to the balcony I had every right to leave. It is not my fault that you misjudged your master hiding skills, and as for me bothering you. You are the one who came seeking me, so I'm afraid you have it all switched around, you are the one that has broken the maid rules, not me." Sasuke walked up to the girl who backed into one of the hedges.

He stopped; her body pinned against the hedge with his, and placed his arms on either side of her head, leaning in. This girl intrigued him like no other. No girl before had ever gave him anything besides a dazed smile and dreamy sigh. Nothing like these fierce glares and frustrated growls coming from this girl as she tried to escape.

"Talking back to the prince without permission is a rule too. How would you prefer to be punished?" Sasuke asked leaning in even closer, his lips millimeters away from the girls.

To the prince's surprise the girl smirked and closed her eyes as if expecting a kiss. "I didn't know that I would get to chose my punishment if I broke the rules." She replied seductively.

"Well most don't, but you're just lucky I guess." Sasuke answered back leaning down to the girls neck, burying his face in the curve of the girls neck. He hadn't planned on acting like this, but this girl's presence was somehow very compelling.

"Am I really that lucky?" the girl hummed as the prince's lips softly kissed her neck. He just simply nodded and continued kissing the girls neck. "Well then I wonder if I would still get to chose my punishment if I did this."

Sasuke immediately jumped away from the girl as water dripped down his face. The girl was standing in front of him, the glare had returned and her watering pitcher was upside down in her hand, the last bit of water dripping out of it.

"Why you…"

"Leave me alone will you!" The girl shouted throwing the pitcher to the ground, "Can't you see I don't want to talk to you! I hate you! I don't ever want to look at you ever again. Leave me alone! I'm not bothering you so quit bothering me in return." With that said, the girl stormed off to another part of the garden.

The prince stood in a frozen stupor, dripping wet. She hated him? She hardly knew him! What was with that girl! He walked back over to where the girl stood facing away from him.

"You will have to make up for what you did."

"It was just water." The girl replied softly, still not facing him.

"Not for that, but for what you did to my head post. That was the finest wood, and thanks to you it's scratched. I will send a guard to pick you up tonight and bring you to my room."

"What's the point!" the girl snapped and turned around almost dried tear streaks marked up her face, "You're not going to sleep with me, so why do I have to sleep in your room! I'll just leave anyway!"

"Just try it." Sasuke stated and walked away.

**In the Water Country**

Hinata had just sat down at one of the tables when someone knocked her dinner tray to the floor.

"Oops"

Hinata looked up at the beautiful orange haired girl with a blond and a black haired girl standing behind her. She gave them a gentle smile and knelt down to the floor.

"It's alright" The shy girl replied, picking up the spilt meal to throw in the trash before there was a splash and a small _thunk_ as the orange-headed girl spilt over Hinata's glass causing the water to spill all over her, soaking her entire head before the glass also fell hitting Hinata before bouncing off her head and landing to the ground with a crash as it shattered into a million pieces.

"What's going on over here?" A booming voice questioned as the guard from earlier came up to the four girls. Looking at the ground he saw the broken shards of glass and the little girl that had almost cost him his job earlier. He snarled down at her, "Useless!" he shouted, "Clean up this mess wench and due to your clumsiness, you can clean up this place after everyone's gone. How's that?" You could here the satisfaction in his voice before marching away. Hinata didn't mind cleaning up. Sure, it might take a long time but at least cleaning floors was something she was familiar with. She finished picking up her tray and stood up only to have it knocked out of her arms once more and hit the floor with a clatter.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" the orange haired girl finally asked with a menacing tone, "Talking with the prince so freely. What is your motive exactly? Acting all sweet and innocent around him…it's disgusting."

"N-no I w-wasn't" Hinata stammered before getting interrupted again.

"What was that?" the girl snorted, while her little groupies giggled behind her, "Is that how you talk around him?" The three girls burst out laughing at the girl who just kept her head down.

"She sounds retarded!" the blonde shrieked with laughter

"Yeah," the black haired girl agreed, "the prince must only keep her around for pure entertainment!" Their howling continued as tears came to the shy girls' pale eyes. She kneeled down again and proceeded to pick up her meal from the floor for the second time that night while letting her bangs cover her eyes. The orange girl bent down to the girls' level with fake concern written on her face.

"Is s-something the matter?" the girl asked while stuttering her words, "If you w-want you c-could t-talk to us?" All the girls burst out in laughter again as the girl stood up.

"Anyway Risa I don't think you have anything to worry about." The blonde replied

"Yeah," agreed the other, "There's a fat chance of the prince choosing her for his personal maid. Maybe for his personal jester though."

The orange haired leader looked over to her friends and then back at the girl who was already walking over to her garbage with her dirtied meal. "You guys are right." She replied turning away, "I don't know what I was thinking. There's no way that girl is any competition for me. Come on, Keiko, Megumi let's go." With that said the three girls marched off.

Hinata dumped her untouched meal in the trash and went back to start picking up the pieces of glass from the floor. Tonight was going to be a long night and it had only begun. She didn't understand why such rude people lived here when they all had a prince that was so kind but they were right weren't they? Now that she thought about it. She did seem pretty useless and her stuttering was probably a major set back for anyone to listen too. Not only that, but she hadn't made a single friend yet, besides Naruto. Could she even count that? A maid and a prince? Friends? Maybe she couldn't but oh well, at least she could consider him a secret friend. It should be fine as long as she didn't tell anyone right? So that's what she decided to do. From now on, Naruto was her first friend here even if he never knew it. She was fine with that, as long as she had one friend. _'Yes, as long as I have a friend.'_

**In the Earth Country**

"Hey Blondie!"

Ino looked up from the floor she was scrubbing, she searched though the sea of other maids that were washing the floors too until she realized the head maid marching towards her.

'_Great,' _Ino thought, _'what did I do now!' _She glared at the lilac haired girl walking towards her. Yuriko didn't look to pleased to see her, but Ino didn't blame her since the feeling was mutual. Ino felt like a house wife, standing up, dusting herself off and tucking her damp rag into the hem of her pants. She folded her arms as Yuriko stopped in front of her. She figured the best way to not get in anymore trouble would be to not say anything and let Yuriko speak first. Yuriko just glared back at Ino, obviously having something to say but having a hard time opening her mouth. After about five minutes she sucked up her pride and managed to speak a few words.

"Outside now."

"Excuse me?"

Yuriko huffed at having to repeat herself but at least found her voice, "There's been a sudden schedule change, you're position has been moved outside."

"Why the sudden change of heart?" Ino asked.

"Not change of heart, change of schedule, get your facts straight." She hissed out.

Ino gave her a smug smile, "Well that's good because I would've been scared to death if I found out you had a heart."

Flames were practically spewing from her mouth, steam pouring out her ears before her face went into a pleasant smile upon remembering something that pleased her. "Don't get your hopes up, you were assigned outside but you aren't in the gardens."

Ino looked at her with a mixture of concerned and confused written on her face, "Where am I assigned to then?"

Yuriko took out the maid assignment sheets, flipping to Ino's name and read out loud, "**Maid:** 195, **Name:** Yamanaka Ino, **Assigned Chore:** cleaning out the swamps."

"WHAT!" Ino shrieked praying that she misheard the satisfied looking girl.

"That's right! Cleaning the swamp! New job and you are the lucky one who gets to try it out!"

"What kind of job is that? How do you even clean out a swamp? In fact who even changed the schedule?"

"Someone who I obviously cared enough to listen too and who thinks you deserve much worse than cleaning floors inside." She answered, her smile never faltering, "Now go."

She walked away while Ino freaked out mentally, _'The Swamps! Was she serious? Why me? Who lives in this castle that she even cares enough to listen to what they have to say?"_

**In the Wind Country**

"There! I'm finally finished! Now you can train and I can leave." The brunette exclaimed while tossing the last branch back up into the tree.

Neji looked up at the branches, "You know throwing the branches back into the tree is not picking them up."

"Oh I'm sorry. Just let me climb up there and get those for you." The girl said sweetly before she exploded, "Are you serious? I could care less! If you care so much then you climb up there and pick them up and if you're not going to do that then just go do your training!" She started stomping off when she heard a loud thunk and then a bunch of tiny thumps. She turned around to see the prince with his foot against the tree and the branches back on the ground.

"What the hell!" the brunette screeched

Neji picked up a branch and swung it around before walking over to the girl, gently shoving it into her stomach. "It's too late to train, clean this place up will you." After that was said he walked off leaving the girl screaming out curses to the air.

**In the Fire Country**

The pink haired girl was once again thrown into the prince's room for the night. She looked around to see no one was there but heard small sounds of dripping water coming from the bathroom. The first thing the girl decided to do was rip the covers and snatch a pillow off the bed. She laid them down on the floor in one corner of the room. She then took off her hat and let her hair fall out as she tucked the hat under her pillow not wanting to go through the same experience twice. She just sat down on her makeshift bed when the prince stepped through the bathroom door a towel draped across his waist. Sasuke looked up to see the top covers and a pillow missing from his bed. He smirked and looked in the direction of the maid to see her reaction to his barely covered form. However he did not like what he saw. He knew that he had a body that would cause all the maids heart attacks and so he was really looking forward to at least causing some reaction to come out of this girl, but when he looked to the corner there she was sitting on her bed, staring at him with a look of disgust on her face before crawling under the covers and turning to the wall with obvious disinterest.

He couldn't believe it! He quickly got changed into his night clothes and climbed on his bed when he heard the girl speak.

"So where'd you hide the key this time? I swear, you have to be the stupidest guy alive to hide your key in your pocket when you have a body like that. If it was anyone else, you could've been raped in your sleep."

Sasuke smirked to himself before replying, "It's because it was you that I hid it there. Now, why did you look there if I grotesque you so much?"

The girl looked up at him from where she was laying before she answered with a smirk of her own, "I looked there because I figured that it would be the last place you would've thought I'd look."

It became quiet again as Sasuke turned off the light near his bed. He crawled under the covers and closed his eyes trying to get some sleep before he remembered something. "Why do you hate me?"

Once the girl heard his voice she looked in the direction of his bed, "How could I not hate you?"

"Well what did I do?"

The girl sat up glaring at the darker shadow where the bed lay, "What didn't you do! Think about it! All of the maids in this castle, did any one of them choose to be here? Any of them at all?" she screamed. She took the silence as his answer, "You see! You took us away from our families! You didn't even ask us but just took us all by force! These girls were taken away from their friends, the people they grew up with and the homes they grew up in! And me! I was taken away from a family that needed me! Now I'm stuck with thinking about all that was ripped away from me and everything that I will never see again and it's all your fault!"

Sasuke could hear tears in her voice! He could hear her breaking in the darkness! He wanted to say something comforting but couldn't think of anything and so he settled with this, "What's your family like?"

The girl spat venom as she answered, "I have a mother and a father. I am an only child. My father and I kept up the place because my mother is really sick. My father is getting tired easily now a day and needs my help with a lot of the chores, and I was always the one to make an antidote that helped my mother feel better with the herbs from the garden. Now that I'm here, my father is probably even more worn down from work and my mother…" The girl cut off her sentence choking on her words, "Who knows what's happened to my mother by now."

"I'm sorry"

"I don't want sympathy, not from you. If you were really sorry, you wouldn't have done it in the first place."

Sasuke never thought about what he did. He felt terrible but knew that there was nothing he could say to make her believe it, he knew how hard it was to listen to anyone when he thought about how he could never see his family again. His mother, his father, and his brother. They were all gone and now he had made other people feel his pain, not just this maid but everyone. With that last thought he closed his eyes once again and tried to sleep.

**In the Earth Country**

Ino was fuming as she was stomping down the hill with a net in hand. She still could not believe she was reduced to doing something this grotesque!

"Why do you have a net?"

"Because some idiot talked the head maid into making me clean the swamps today!" Once again the blonde covered her mouth with a hand and looked over to find the prince sitting on the hill.

"We've got to quit meeting like this." He replied in his usual bored tone.

"Well then quit coming here." The blonde snapped back.

"No, I didn't mean it that way. I meant with me asking you a question and you replying back with some snappy thing to say. I already knew you were going to be here, that's why I came."

"How would you know something like…oh!" It finally clicked in the Blondes mind as everything made perfect sense. Someone that the head maid would listen too, of course would be him. _'Wait…Something still isn't right.'_

"Why the hell did you assign me to cleaning out the swamps? What did I do to you?"

Shikamaru was about to remind her that she did insult him twice already but decided against it and just said, "I didn't assign you to the swamps, I told Yuriko to send you here so I could talk to you, but knowing her and the argument you guys got into this morning she just made that up to get your feathers all ruffled. Ino screeched in anger.

"Why I ought to! What argume.." again she cut herself off upon remembering this morning, "Oh…You heard that."

Shikamaru just shrugged his shoulders. It became silent for about a minute before he replied, "Well anyway, I just wanted to say that you have the rest of the day off, since we have all the workers we need in the gardens but starting tomorrow you're working there." Ino was trying to process what he was saying as he continued, "Oh…And don't worry, tomorrow's weather is supposed to be the same." With that said the prince walked off leaving a frozen Ino standing near the swamp.

**That's all for this chapter! It was longer than the others but don't get your hopes up for the next chapter to be that long! Haha! Thanks for all the reviews! =)**

**A reviewer wanted to know if I liked SakxNeji couple?**

**-Yes I do. I've read some of that couple **_**(my fav so far being one where Sakura and Neji get this squirrel sometime in the story, named Pinky)**_** haha, however I have never wrote a fanfic with them yet. I have written a fanfic on ItachixSakura but that was in 7****th**** grade and when I read it now, (even though it's good for a seventh grader to write) I feel as if the story plot moves way to fast in the beginning and it's really cheesy. Haha… I have also started a GaaraxSakura story but I don't know if it'd be good to post up since that would mean updating two stories instead of one.**

**Another reviewer gave a suggestion for ShikaxIno.**

**-I do have a general direction in which my story is going however I have troubles with fillers a lot of times. However, I love the suggestions and they are all great but usually I just go with the flow with my writing and so I guess we'll just have to wait and see if I use them or not. If I find a spot that I think they will work perfectly then I probably will. **_**(This goes for ALL suggestions so feel free to make one at any time however I can not guarantee that I will put it in the story or not). =)**_

**One more thing for if **_**PerfectPen **_**reads this. ;) Like I said I have an idea of where my story's going, however after reading your suggestion the more I think about the more I like it. (Since I can also change it a tad bit and it could make my story go a lot smoother so I probably will put **_**most**_** of your suggestion in my story.) So thank you…=)**

**Again Reviews/Questions/Suggestions… I love them all! =p**


	9. Chapter 9

**I'm so sorry for taking so long to update. My Science class was a killer. I never want to take another science College class again (or English College class for that matter) at least until I'm through with high school. =) haha**

**Anyways Enjoy this chapter, I did make it a little longer… ;)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

**My Prince Charming**

**Chapter 8**

**In the Fire Country**

Sasuke woke up to the sound of rustling pages. Remembering he wasn't alone, his eyes snapped open as he looked over to the corner. Sakura was sitting on top of her makeshift bed, reading a book she must've found on his bookshelf. Feeling the intense stare she looked up from the book. They stared at each other for a minute before she sighed.

"What? Am I not allowed to read your books too."

"No," Sasuke smirked and continued, "it's not allowed to touch my stuff without permission though."

The girl scowled at the boy, "So what now? Do I have to spend another night in this prison?"

Her cold attitude reminded the boy of their conversation the night before.

With his smirk wiped completely off his face he replied, "No, you didn't run off so I don't feel the need to punish you further. Tonight you shall stay in the maid quarters but anymore complaints from you and you'll end up right back here."

The girl glared but didn't say anything as she got up, put the book back and walked out of the room.

**In the Water Country**

Hinata was walking through the halls, heading to the dining hall for her assigned chores when she was interrupted by the sound of laughter. It sounded like only two individuals but both voices were familiar. One she could recognize as Naruto's voice since his laugh always made her want to smile. However, the other voice was a little more challenging to identify but it gave her an unpleasant feeling which meant she'd only need three guesses to guess who the other person was, even though she was sure only one guess would suffice.

Hinata peered around the corner to see Naruto talking to Risa. She looked so sweet and comfortable while talking to the prince. Even her voice changed from its original, annoying tone to a much lower octave of any normal girl. The blonde prince laughed again and Hinata strained her ears to listen in.

"My father always did weird things like that." Risa giggled along side the blonde as she finished up her story.

"You're family sure sounds like lots of fun." Naruto breathed out trying to calm down, "I bet you miss them."

"Of course I do," Risa replied before quickly adding, "but working here is quite fun too. It takes my mind off of them."

Hinata quit listening there. She didn't need to hear anymore. Well, she didn't want to hear anymore. The way those two could talk so freely to each other made her heart ache. Risa was also a maid but she still talked to the prince as if they were of the same status. Hinata knew that Risa hated her, but she admired Risa. She looked beautiful, from her long, flowing orange hair, and deep, forest green eyes, to her girlish laugh and abundance of confidence. Even if Risa's attitude wasn't the best, her confidence level sure was the highest and Hinata admired that about her.

"Eavesdrop much?"

Hinata jumped at the voice right next to her. Risa stood there leaning against the wall with an uninterested expression but still waiting for an answer.

"You really are a stalker, aren't you?"

Hinata just looked at the ground silently before Risa walked right up to her.

She sighed before stating, "Well I guess I could forgive you, because if you had heard any part of that conversation, you must've realized by now that you (let alone any one for that matter) do not and will not be able to stand a chance against me for becoming the prince's personal maid. He wants someone who is fun, beautiful and able to hold a conversation, not someone who is scared, short, and silent. Just face it dwarf. He wants me."

With that said, Risa turned around and walked off.

'_Yup'_ Hinata thought to herself, _'Her confidence is definitely admirable.'_

**In the Earth Country**

Ino woke up, got dressed and headed straight for the gardens. She didn't feel like eating since she was too excited to get outside. Just as Shikamaru had said, the weather was the same. It looked as if the night had never come. Ino walked down a worn path of grass to the gardens.

She wasn't surprised to see that she was the only person there. She looked around at the rainbow of colors that surrounded her. The garden was absolutely beautiful. Ino had never seen so many different kinds of flowers in her life. She would have to thank Shikamaru later. Thinking of the prince, the blonde looked up to the sky to see a single cloud passing through.

'_He's probably off looking at that single cloud right now.' _Ino thought before starting on her chores. Little did she know that for once Shikamaru wasn't gazing at the clouds, but instead gazing down the pathway that led to the gardens, trying to decide to follow the path or to keep on walking.

**In the Wind Country**

Tenten was on a window sill, looking out over the castle grounds. It was so peaceful and quiet. For once the prince was not there to bother her. It was the same time as the day before so she knew that the prince would be starting his training by now, which meant she wouldn't have to worry about him bothering her. With that thought in mind the brunette leaned her head back on the cool brick sill, closed her eyes and fell asleep.

**In the Fire Country**

Sakura was assigned to the gardens again. She heard the sounds of footsteps coming up behind her. She turned around reluctantly, expecting to see the prince but instead she found an elderly lady walking her way.

"I was wondering if I might have your name if it's not too much to ask." The lady questioned as she hobbled over to the girl.

Sakura paused a moment at the random question before answering, "Sakura, Haruno Sakura."

The elderly lady stuck out her hand for Sakura to shake while replying, "It's nice to meet you Sakura. My name is Yuka. I'm the head maid and I've noticed that the prince has taken a liking to you. In fact this is the first time I've seen you two apart."

Sakura knew what the lady was leading up to and answered her unasked question, "Well, last night we got into a disagreement and I think something I said must've gotten through to him so he said he'd give me a day without him trying to ruin it."

Yuka just listened intently to the girl as she spoke. When she was finished the senior took her turn, "Well you sure don't sound like any ordinary maid. I see why Sasuke has taken an interest in you. However, if I may be so bold as to ask what you two were talking about? The prince is a stubborn lad, so I have taken an interest into what you could've said."

Sakura thought a moment about how to shorten it up before answering, "I just made him realize how easy he has it."

Yuka nodded her head in agreement, "Yes that's true. Most princes seem to have it easy don't they?"

"Of course," Sakura replied as she went back to watering the plants, "everything is handed to them on a silver platter, they are sheltered from the world, they don't know anything about hardships, hurt, or pain because everyone keeps them safe."

"I wouldn't say that's completely true."

Sakura paused as the elderly lady finally disagreed with something she said.

"A prince may be tied down in a castle but he could still trip and fall down the stairs. They can't be protected all the time."

"That's not what I meant. I don't mean a bruised eye or a scraped knee. I'm talking about real pain, like forcibly being ripped away from your family for starters. All maids here have lost their families. He will never know a pain like that."

Yuka remained paused for a moment to make sure the girl was finished before stating calmly, "Do you know the prince personally? Has he told you about his family? Or what's left of it? Has he told you about anything?"

Sakura paused a moment before asking, "What do you mean what's left of it?"

"Didn't your parents ever talk about your King or Queen? Didn't they tell you of the royals at all?" Yuka asked

"Well, I was taken here from a small village on the outskirts of the land. It was so far away from the castle that we didn't really listen to laws, or even know what they were for that matter. What did you mean what's left of the prince's family?" she asked again.

"They are no longer around; any of them." The old lady replied skeptically as if deciding whether to tell Sakura or not.

"What happened?" Sakura asked

"No," Yuka replied, shaking her head, "I've said too much, this is a story for the prince to share. It is not my place."

"What?"

"I'm sorry." With that said, Yuka walked off.

**In the Water Country**

"Oh no! What have I done?"

Hinata looked over to a maid kneeling on the ground, a look of horror written across her face. Two friends were kneeling next to her trying to comfort her.

"What's wrong?" Hinata asked walking up to the stressed out teen.

"Yumi, was working in the gardens yesterday and was the last to leave. She was in a hurry and when she shut the gate it must not have closed all the way." The girl speaking was nudged in the side by the other girl's elbow and then the crying girl looked up with teary eyes.

"Something must've gotten in. Some of the vegetables are partially eaten and some of the leaves are bitten into. The garden is a mess! What should I do?" The girl continued sobbing as Hinata walked over and knelt down beside her.

The shy girl looked around at the damage done to the garden. "We can fix this." She replied as all three girls looked up.

"How?" Yumi hiccupped.

"Well," Hinata started off pulling some eaten leaves, "We can start by pulling off these ruined leaves, and taking out these eaten vegetables. If we go put them where no one will find them I doubt anyone will notice if they are gone." The girls started helping Hinata and when they finished the three girls picked up the large pile of vegetables and leaves.

"I know exactly where to put these!" Yumi squealed, the tears long gone. Hinata just smiled at the three before a thought crossed her mind.

"How old are you?"

"I'm twelve," Yumi answered, "Shiro and Shira are thirteen."

Hinata looked at the three girls in shock. "Isn't twelve and thirteen a bit too young to be maids? I mean the guards only took girls from the age of seventeen and up and they only took one daughter of the family too." Hinata gestured to Shiro and Shira who were obviously twins.

The three girls exchange glances before Yumi spoke up, "We weren't taken away from our villages. We were born at the castle."

Hinata paled at this news. Did that mean these girls were related to the prince?

As if reading her mind Shira or Shiro (It was hard to tell who at the moment) answered, "Don't get the wrong idea, we were born in the castle but we don't have any royal blood. Shira's and my mother was pregnant when she was taken to the castle but it was too early for her to notice. Yumi's mom was found sick and homeless, and so the king and queen took her in and nursed her back to health in exchange for her services."

Hinata nodded her head, listening to the story. These girls grew up in the same castle as the prince and just like him they were trapped in this place. The only difference is that they were maids. They never were able to know what it was like to be free.

Hinata snapped out of her trance like state at the sound of a rustle in the bushes behind her. The three preteens jumped slightly and slowly backed away as Hinata took a step forward, holding her breath. She near about had a heart attack when something jumped out at her.

"Eep!"

Hinata looked down at the fuzzy creature looking up at her. She gave a caring smile and picked up the ball of fluff while talking to herself. "Well, now I have an answer to why the carrot and lettuce patch received the worst end of the deal." When she turned around she was faced with three horror struck faces. "What?"

"We need to get that out of here." One twin squeaked, "If the guard finds that thing we'll all be in trouble."

"And we mean literally we will _all _be in trouble." The other twin replied.

'_I'm guessing this mustn't be this little guy's first trip to the garden.'_ Hinata thought before calming the preteens down.

"Don't worry," She replied, "You guys go and drop of those ruined plants and I'll deal with this little fella."

The girls stood frozen for just a moment more before reluctantly nodding their heads and walking out of the garden gates.

"Now, what to do with you" Hinata replied, looking down at the little rabbit nestled in her arms.

**In the Earth Country**

Ino hummed to herself as she watered the plants in the garden. It was so amazing working here. Both the sight and smell were lovely.

"It's really peaceful here. I see now why you were so insistent."

Ino jumped at the sudden voice behind her. She quickly turned around to look at Shikamaru who was looking around at the flowers.

"What are you doing here?" she asked curiously, "Shouldn't you be cloud gazing?"

Shikamaru looked up at the one cloud in the sky. "There's only one cloud in the sky. There's not that much to gaze at. Besides, as long as I can see the sky, I can gaze up at it. I don't have to be in one particular spot."

Ino blushed in embarrassment. She should've just left it at 'what are you doing here?' She was pulled out of her thoughts when Shikamaru started to speak again.

"I just wanted to see how your first day in the gardens was going."

Ino glance questioningly at him before stating, "Why did you come so early? No one else is here. How did you know I was going to be?"

"I didn't" Shikamaru stated just realizing how early it still was.

"Oh" Ino replied awkwardly, not knowing what else to say.

"So, how is your first day?"

Ino looked up at the prince and paused to think before replying, "It's great. The gardens are beautiful and the smell is relaxing. I can't imagine having a better chore than this."

"That's good" Shikamaru replied. Things were starting to get really awkward. He just came down to check on this maid to see how she was doing for no reason at all. Other than asking her how she was, he had nothing else to say. He hadn't planned anything else. He just simply wanted to know how she was and now that he knew, he didn't know what else there was. He thought about just leaving but that would be rude and embarrassing. Of course just standing there stupidly would be just as embarrassing or even more so since he was known for his brains. He quickly searched his brain for something to say.

"You know, even though you like the gardens, it'd be unfair to let you be here everyday while everyone else has to switch their chore schedule around."

"I know" Ino replied while looking down to the ground disappointedly.

"And I can't let everyone pick their chores other wise we wouldn't have enough maids on the least favored chores."

"I know"

Shikamaru sighed. This girl was not helping him carry on with his conversation and it was starting to sound very one sided.

"There is one way that you can be in the gardens though, and it wouldn't affect anyone else." Shikamaru replied, hoping to get the girl's attention. It had worked. The girl looked up at him curiously.

"How?"

"Well," Shikamaru started off with a sigh, "All the maids here are supposed to get the same treatment." He paused before replying, "All but one. The prince's personal maid is supposed to do whatever the prince commands. Now I don't have a lot of needs that need to be met and I could really care less if I were to get a personal maid or not but I kind of have to. You're pretty loud but, I could always send you off to the gardens if I get tired of hearing you or you could go there while I cloud gaze. Which is a majority of my day so what do you say?"

There was a long silence before Ino replied stupidly, "What?"

Shikamaru again heaved a heavy sigh. Just what was he getting himself into? "At the end of this week, when I have to chose a maid. I'm going to call your name." With that said Shikamaru left Ino standing there in the garden as he went to go find that single cloud to get his mind off of the stunt he just pulled.

"What!" Ino screeched as it all sunk in.

**In the Wind Country**

"Slacking off on the job again!"

"Woh!"

Tenten jolted awake when she was roughly grabbed by both arms and lifted into the air by the furious guard. She saw the guard glare at her in complete rage and smirked.

"Good morning to you too"

She was then slammed into the wall painfully. It hurt like hell but she only flinched, not wanting to give this guard any satisfaction.

"I'm sick and tired of your attitude and mocking! You're going to pay girl." The guard snarled.

"Here you go, acting all high and mighty again. Do you mind continuing this conversation later, I just woke up."

"You will respect me girl"

This ticked the brunette off quite a bit and she spat back at him, "You're not king! You're grown up so quit playing pretend!"

"Why you…"

"What are you going to do? You can't send me home! You can't do anythi…" Tenten was cut off as the burly man slammed his lips onto hers. It took about two seconds for the brunette to realize what was going on before she shoved the guard away from her with as much strength as she could muster. Unfortunately for her, the guard was stronger than she thought and she only managed to get his face away from hers.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Making you respect me." He replied, kissing down the girl's neck.

"Stop! Get off me!" Tenten screamed, struggling, but it was no use. She felt the guard's hands roam her stomach and she cursed the prince for allowing their outfits to be so revealing.

"I said stop! If you don't stop I'll…" she was cut off again by the guard's mouth, his tongue muffling her screams. Everything felt so wrong. His tongue, his lips, his hands. Tenten felt sick to her stomach, just praying that he'd stop soon. She found out that wasn't going to be the case as soon as she felt his hands moving lower. Her eyes widened as fear took over and she clamped her jaw shut on the man's tongue. He howled in pain and re-slammed the girl into the wall, her head banging against the bricks behind her.

"You bitch" he growled

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry okay! Just please stop!" Her voice was frantic and she knew she sounded pathetic but she also knew that more than anything else, she didn't want him to continue.

The guard paused a moment, shocked at what she said before he smirked and leaned into her ear, "Well, well the girl has started using manners. It looks like my methods are working."

He went back to sucking on the girl's neck and Tenten was at a loss of words. It was obvious that this guard had no intention of stopping. She closed her eyes, resigning to her fate but she couldn't help whimpering out stop once more before trying to divert her mind onto something else more pleasant.

"I believe the girl has told you to stop."

Tenten felt the guard immediately release her and she collapsed to the ground, her eyes widening in surprise at the voice in front of her.

"Sire, I was just…"

"I know what you were doing." The prince replied emotionlessly.

"T-the girl she was…"

Again the guard was interrupted as the prince spoke in a calm voice, "You know that I don't mind guards and maids having relationships as long as the feelings are mutual." The guard gulped as the prince walked up to him and turned back to the crying girl, pointing a finger at her before growling, "Does that look mutual to you."

"No sir"

Neji walked back to the girl's side before turning back to the guard with a glare, "If I find you doing anything like this again, you will be demoted. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir"

"Leave" 

The guard turned quickly and left as soon as the prince had ordered it.

"You really need to learn to watch you mouth around that guy. He's not as nice as I am. You should've seen this com…" Neji froze when he heard a sob below him. He quickly looked down to see the maid with her hands buried in her face, her tears slipping through her fingers. He was at a loss for words as he slowly bent down to the girl's level. He never had to deal with a crying girl before. Well not in a long time at least. "Quit crying" he replied, "He's gone, you're fine. You look weak and pathetic." He wasn't meaning to be rude. In fact he was waiting for the girl to say some snappy comeback but instead she just silently nodded her head and wiped ferociously at her tears. Neji just watched the girl rub away at her eyes but the tears kept cascading down her face. After about a minute, Neji sighed and bent forward before he gently put his hand on the girls shoulder as she looked up, half in surprise, half in fear.

"Quit rubbing your eyes before you rub them raw."

Tears sprung back into the girl's eyes and she looked away from Neji as if trying to hide them. He gently tilted her face back his way but she yanked away softly.

"Why won't you look at me?"

She didn't answer but just continued wiping away her tears.

"Look at me" This time it was a command and not wanting to be taught anymore 'lessons' Tenten turned back to the prince. Her eyes were red and puffy, showing a near pained expression. Not even a second later, her head was buried back in her hands, and her body shook with sobs.

"I can't" she whispered, "I'm sorry"

Neji wanted to say something but couldn't think of anything.

"I was, was just, so scared. I c-couldn't stop him on my own. I thought, I thought…" the girl hiccupped.

"It's okay now, he's gone." Neji knew his words weren't coming out as comforting as he wanted them to be.

"My tears," she whimpered. Neji tried to listen to the girl but he could only make a few words. "Weak… -hiccup- Pathetic…"

'_Quit crying, you look weak and pathetic.'_

Neji's earlier words came back to him and without realizing it he was wrapping his arms around the girl. She stiffened in fear but he didn't move. Instead he replied with an 'I'm sorry'. Her eyes widened in surprise as he continued.

"You don't have to quit crying. You're not weak. It's your tears that make you strong. Looking pathetic, looking scared, showing such vulnerable emotions is a hard thing to do. It's the people who can't do that, that are the weak ones. People like me. So don't quit crying. Don't start listening to me now, you never have before."

Her surprised expression turned back into tears and she cried into his shirt. To say the truth, Neji just spoke without thinking. He couldn't even remember anything, but since the girl began to cry again, he thought/hoped he had said the right thing. After a few minutes, Neji gently pushed the girl off him. He stood up with a sigh and looked back down at the girl.

"Do you want to get out of these halls?" he asked awkwardly. The girl simply nodded her head without looking at him. Other than that nod she made no sign of moving, so Neji bent down and picked the girl up silently. Again the girl buried her face in his shirt. He walked down the hall and stopped at a fork. He looked right, towards his room before glancing left, towards the maid quadrant. After a moment he started walking down the hall to the left. After what happened, he doubted the girl wanted to go into a guy's room.

**In the Water Country**

Hinata had just stepped out of the garden when she heard someone shouting.

"Hey! What's going on here?"

She looked up to see the main guard yelling at Shira, Shiro, and Yumi.

"You three are suppose to be working in the gardens, what do you think you're doing out here?" he bellowed out, his face scrunched up in rage.

"We're sorr…"

"I don't want to hear apologies; I want to here some explanations!" he hollered raising his hand to strike.

Forgetting how much trouble she was already in with this guy, Hinata ran forward.

"Stop!" she shouted as everyone froze and looked her way.

"You." The guard seethed, "You just can't stay out of trouble." He lowered his hand and started walking towards her. He stopped suddenly, his eyes widening then narrowing in anger. "What is that?"

Hinata looked down at the bunny still sleeping in her arms. She was at a loss of words; afraid that no matter what she said the guard would become even more furious. She realized moments later that the guard wasn't expecting an answer as he marched forward and snatched the little rabbit away, waking it up from its peaceful slumber. As soon as it saw the guard it started struggling to get away.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" he said with a frightening pleasant sounding voice, "If it isn't the little robber. Came to steal from the gardens again I see." All the girls watched in horror as the guard continued speaking to the frightened creature, "I sure hope you had plenty to eat because that will be your last meal." With that said, the guard started walking away with the struggling rabbit.

"Wait," Hinata called, "Where are you taking hi…"

She didn't get to finish her sentence as the guard stopped at a tree stump pinning the rabbit there with his large hand and taking out his sword from its sheath.

"NO!"

Hinata couldn't remember how she got to the stump so fast but one moment she saw the guard was raising his sword above his head and the next she heard the three girls scream and felt a patch of fur shivering underneath her.

"What the hell do you think you're doing wench!" The guard hollered, his sword an inch away from the girls skin, "Don't you think that you can stop me. I don't care if you're there or not. That little thief is going to die, even if that means I have to slice through you to do it!"

"P-please don't! It didn't know what it was doing! It's just a helpless animal!"

"I don't care! It steals and it'll never stop!"

"It was just hungry!" Hinata yelled back tears running down her eyes, her body still hovering over the poor creature.

"I don't care. You think if a human steals food because they are hungry, they can get away with it? Well, they can't girl so why should this thing be able to."

"I won't let you kill it." Hinata whispered, her voice barely reaching the guards ears.

"Well, that's fine by me. Anyone who helps a thief is just as guilty." The guard replied raising his sword again.

"What's going on here?"

The guard's eyes widened as he turned around to see the prince walking toward the scene.

"Prince, I uh." He stumbled to find the right words, "this isn't what it looks like."

Naruto gave a questioning look before realizing the unsheathed sword and the person leaning over the stump. He gave a fierce glare before asking again, "What's going on here?"

"It's the girl. We had a stowaway in the garden ruining the plants again and the girl refuses to let me take care of it. She's trying to justify its crimes but a human wouldn't get away with stealing so why should it. If a human were to steal, they would be executed as well."

"Not without my permission they wouldn't be." Naruto growled, glaring dangerously at the guard who was trying to pick the right words to say.

"Yes, well I know sire, but that doesn't apply with animals."

"And why not?" Naruto snapped, "Animals have brains. Animals have hearts. Why shouldn't they have the same rights as humans?"

The guard was exasperated, "But sire, that's impractical!"

"I'm the one that calls the shots. From now on all executions on animals or people must be done with my consent."

The guard nodded his head before taking his leave. Naruto walked up to the stump and put his hand on Hinata's shoulder.

"Why is it that you're always in trouble whenever I see you?" Naruto asked.

Hinata looked up finally, and dried tears streaked her face. A moment later, a small head poked out from underneath her. The moment the little fluff ball saw the prince it wriggled out of Hinata's grasp and jumped into the prince's arms.

"Hey little guy" Naruto cooed, "I'm glad to see you too… Alive." He petted the rabbit and turned back towards Hinata. "I'm really glad you saved him, but turning yourself into a human sacrifice might have not been the smartest choice. I mean that guard doesn't seem to like you very much as it is."

Hinata stood up, staring at the ground and turned beet red from embarrassment. Naruto saw this and chuckled before replying.

"When I was younger, I saw a guard about to slaughter a pig. I did the same thing and the guard almost sliced me in two. My dad was looking for me at the time and happened to look out the window over there when the incident happened. He nearly had a heart attack and jumped out the second story window, grabbing the branches of the tree and swinging down to the ground before sprinting over to us. The guard was in such shock that they had to get a new guard to slaughter the pig for the banquet later that evening. Dad scolded me and sent me to my room crying but that pig sure turned out to be delicious."

Hinata giggled at the story before looking him over to find his face covered in scratches and bruises. "N-Naruto w-what happened?" She questioned with great concern.

A confused look crossed the blonde's face before it clicked.

"Oh, you're talking about these?" he asked, lightly touching a bruise on his cheek. He laughed before answering, "Well, I saw you and the guard through the window so I tried to jump out of the window like dad. I'm guessing that must not have been his first time jumping out the window because I missed the branch I aimed for but hit every other branch on the way down." Naruto chuckled nervously and Hinata joined in. She looked at the bunny sleeping in his arms.

"It looks like he likes you."

"Yeah, I guess this whole mess is my fault. The little guy must've watched me go into the garden to get him carrots before." Naruto replied, taking carrots out from his back pocket. "I got these ones from the kitchen."

Hinata smiled and Naruto handed her one of the carrots.

"Feed him"

"B-but he's sleeping!"

"Just do it"

Hinata put her carrot in front of the little rabbit's nose. Its nose sniffed the air before opening its mouth to chew on the carrot without even opening its eyes. Both teens laughed at the scene before Naruto spoke.

"Do you have a name for him?"

"M-me?" Hinata asked, stunned.

"Yeah," Naruto replied, "I thought of calling him Hopper but it just doesn't suit him. Other maids told me to call it Flopsy or Fluffy or to name it after them but they're all girl names. The guards said to call him Trouble, Thief, or Dinner but something doesn't sound right with those names either."

Hinata thought a moment, while watching the sleeping creature nibble away on its treats.

"Carrots" she replied softly to herself.

"What?" Naruto said, having only heard a mumble.

"Carrots," Hinata said a bit louder, looking to the prince, "that can be a boy's name right."

Naruto was speechless and Hinata took the silence wrong.

"S-sorry" she stuttered, "It's a s-silly name."

"Carrots" the prince replied quietly almost as if he was speaking to himself.

"J-just f-forget it"

"I like it"

It took Hinata a few seconds to realize what the prince had just said, "W-what?"

"I like it" Naruto repeated, "From now on he shall be named Carrots and guards will be banned from harming him. Thanks Hinata!"

The girl blushed before the boy ran off to inform the guards of the new addition to the castle.

**In the Fire Country**

It was night time and Sakura was lying down in her bed in the maid quarters. She went the entire day without even seeing the prince. Overall she was very pleased but something kept picking at her brain. What did that older lady mean when she said what's left of them. What happened to his family that she couldn't possibly have shared? Now that Sakura thought about it, she never did see the King or Queen. In fact she never even heard anyone speak of them. _'I hate to think this but maybe I've said something I shouldn't have.'_

Sakura was suddenly pulled away from her thoughts when a hand covered her mouth along with her shriek of shock. Whoever it was, they covered her eyes before she could see who they were and gagged her. A couple more dark figures came to help lift her up as they dragged her off somewhere. She felt the people bring her down a set of stairs, and being on the first floor already told her that they were going below the castle. Just minutes later, she was tossed onto a much harder bed and pinned down as her gag was removed along with her blindfold. The room was just barely lit by a ray of moonshine coming from a small window at the top of the room. You could see the grass from the window just above the ground. Sakura glanced around the moonlit room. From what she could make out, there were about twelve people in the room with her. From the shadows of their figures Sakura could tell they were all girls. She looked towards the direction where she was sure she was carried in. The door was made of bars, which she could only guess it meant that they were in the dungeons.

"What's going on?" Sakura finally managed to ask as the girl closest to her spoke.

"What the hell do you think you're doing with Sasuke?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Sakura growled. The prince was finally letting her have one day of peace and now these girls were here because of him.

"Quit flirting with him! We see you together all the time! Who do you think you are?" the girl shrieked.

"Flirting?" Sakura choked out, "Oh please. You can have him. I hate the guy; he just stays by me to torture me."

The loud one paused for a moment but then raised her hand and smacked Sakura across the face.

"I don't believe you!" she yelled, "No one hates Sasuke. You're just trying to get off easy. I'm not going to let that happen."

"What are you talking about?" Sakura asked exasperated, "Get off easy for what?"

The girl just ignored the pink haired teen's question as she walked away and the other girl's closed in. Sakura couldn't count how many times she was hit that night. She didn't even bother with asking them to stop, already knowing that it'd be pointless. Each girl took their turn, taking out their jealousy on the prince's 'favorite toy'. Once their turn was over, they left through the barred door. After they were all gone the first girl (obviously the leader) came back and stopped in front of the freshly beaten girl.

"Now you know what happens when you get too involved with the prince." She stated in a low voice, kneeing Sakura in the stomach before bending over to whisper in her ear, "Let's make sure this doesn't happen again okay?" With that said the girl walked off, shutting the cell door and locking it. Sakura didn't bother getting up. She didn't even make an effort to move. Everything was hurting. She thought back to the leader of the group. That girl's voice had changed every time she spoke which made sense. In the dark, moonlit room, all the girl's hair color were washed out to different shades of blue, black, and purple. So the voices would've been the only evidence to give away the girls identities. That was the last though that crossed Sakura's mind as she fell unconscious from the pain.

**Sorry for not putting much Ino/Shika in this chapter! It's quite a challenge writing four separate stories and not making the same thing happen to all the girls. I've done pretty well at making similar things happen to two girls at the same time. Like Hin/Sak both have evil fan girls, Hin/Ten both have really mean gaurds, Ten/Sak both have spent the night in the prince's room, & Ino/Sak main chores are in the gardens. haha**

**As for Tenten's part, I hope that was okay… (I didn't really like how weak she sounded, but it seemed to fit)**

**That's all for now! Thanks to all those who read and review and please continue to do so! Reviews/Questions/Suggestions are always welcome! =)  
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	10. Chapter 10

**So here it is the next chapter. Please enjoy! =)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

**My Prince Charming**

**Chapter 9**

**In The Fire Country**

"Ugh…" Sakura woke up with a groan. She tried opening her eyes and groaned again at the pain. Her vision was blurred on one side due to the swelling around her eye. She slowly sat up as she almost hissed at the unpleasant feeling. Not even a minute later she heard someone unlocking the cell door. She looked up as a guard set a tray down on the floor right next to the door.

"Meal time" He said quickly as he shut and locked the door back up.

"Wait" Sakura called.

The guard paused and turned around at the girl's voice. He didn't know there were any women prisoners being held.

"Let me out"

"What?" The guard questioned, caught completely by surprise as the prisoner commanded such an absurd request.

"I'm not a prisoner," The girl continued, "I'm a maid. Some girls put me in here last night."

The guard marched back over to the girl and looked her over for a moment before answering back.

"How am I supposed to believe you? No one besides guards have the keys to these cells. You're lying."

"No I'm not!" the girl snapped back, "I'm telling the truth. A group of girls tied me up and brought me down here. Look over there; they left the ropes and gag."

The guard looked over at the mess the girls left behind and back to Sakura's face.

"You look like you got beat up." The guard replied, "How do I know you didn't cause a fight in which those ropes were used to restrain you?"

"Because you've got to believe me!" the girl fumed, "I didn't get in a fight! A group of girls brought me down here to beat me!"

"Why?" the guard inquired, still not believing the bruised teen

"I don't know!" Sakura replied aggravated

"Who were they?" the guard interrogated

"I don't know" she growled

"Then how can I believe you?"

"Ugh!" the girl screeched before she remembered something.

"Sasuke!" she shouted surprising the guard, "They said it had something to do with Sasuke. Get him down here. He'd believe me!"

"The prince is very busy. I can't bother him with something like this."

Sakura sighed, almost giving up before she remembered something else to help her out.

"What about Yuka? She's the head maid. She'd know me. If you can't ask Sasuke then ask Yuka."

The guard thought for a moment before replying, "Let me finish with passing out the meals. If you're lying you'll be in big trouble."

With that said, the guard walked off with the other meals.

**In The Water Country**

"Naruto, it's time to wake up"

"Not now" groaned the blonde

"If I don't wake you up now, you'll be sleeping all day."

Naruto rolled over while throwing his pillow on top of his head, "I'll get up soon" he replied, his voice muffled by the pillow

"Have it your way" Kagiro replied

Seconds later Naruto had the covers ripped from him along with his pillow and he was dangling by his feet outside his window on the fourth floor of the castle.

"Are you guys' crazy? Put me down! I'm up! Now pull me in!" Naruto screamed at the uncomfortable looking guards. They didn't like the idea of hanging the prince out the window but Kagiro had ordered it and due to the late king's last orders, Kagiro had more power than the prince when it came to orders.

"How could you do that? I'm the prince! Shouldn't I be able to wake up whenever I feel like it?"

"I had orders from the King and I refuse to disobey them." Kagiro replied calmly

"What exactly were his orders? To kill his son if he doesn't learn to obey?" Naruto asked exasperatedly

The older man chuckled before answering, "He said to get you out of bed by all means. He said that he refused to have a lazy son."

"Jeez, what ever happened to breakfast in bed"

"Your father did not believe in breakfast in bed for royalty"

"Mom always had breakfast in bed!" Naruto snapped back

"She was a girl and the queen" Kagiro stated

"I'm a prince and the king's son!"

"Your mother was special"

"And I'm not!" Naruto stated, appalled by this insult. He was soon to be crowned king and he was not considered special enough to get breakfast in bed.

"Naruto"

Naruto broke away from his thoughts and turned his attention back to the old man, "yeah?"

"You have three more days until the announcement of the personal maid. Have you given it any thought of who you might choose? If you do not choose by the assigned date, an elder will probably pick one for you."

"Oh right! I totally forgot, it slipped my mind"

Kagiro sighed at the prince's poor memory, "Okay, well since you have yet to make a decision, might I make a suggestion?" He paused a moment, for the prince to reply. Naruto looked his way and nodded for him to continue, "Choose wisely. The maid will be by your side most of everyday, so you must enjoy her company but make sure her company isn't too overbearing. Just because you enjoy a conversation with the maid every once in a while does not mean you will enjoy her company everyday." With that said, Kagiro bowed and left the prince to process what he had just said.

**In the Wind Country**

It was three days until the announcement of personal maids. Neji was informed about this earlier that day. He already knew who he wanted to choose but after the incident it didn't feel right tormenting the girl anymore. Of course, he was not a girl so he didn't exactly know how they felt but he did know that she most likely didn't want to be around guys for a while. He had heard that girls can get scared of men fairly easily when they get sexually assaulted. Something that came from the trauma of someone harassing them and over powering them with strength that they did not possess in which leading the girl to feel entirely helpless with the fact that she could do nothing about what was happening to her. This particular girl was strong but that can not push out the fact that the guard was physically stronger. So Neji decided that letting the girl have a few days away from men would be for the better. Even though this girl was tough and acted unbreakable, the moment he saw her break down in front of him yesterday reminded him that she was still in fact a girl and possessed some of the same inner workings of one. To say the truth, Neji himself was afraid. He was afraid that if she didn't get some space from the opposite sex it might affect her. He was hoping that space from men for a while will help her settle down, along with the feeling of anxiety she will get when she sees one. Just like everything else, Neji faced this problem very carefully, trying to make sure that whatever happens he would get the girl not to hate him… more than she already did of course.

"Prince"

Neji reverted from his thoughts and looked to the direction he heard the voice coming from. As soon as he saw the guard, he glared. The guard in return, just bowed, slightly shifting in discomfort at the clear fact that the prince was very displeased to see him.

"I have come to inform you of a treaty agreement." The prince said nothing and continued to glare as the guard continued to speak, "I was called to tell you that the day after the maid selections you will be heading out with the girl you chose to the Sand Country. There you will meet with the new prince to sign a peace treaty between our countries. Prince Shikamaru, Sasuke, and Naruto will also be there to do the same. I have heard that it will be a four night stay and it's terribly hot in the Sand Country so pack lightly." The guard waited for the prince to say something or nod his head in acknowledgement but he did neither and so the guard again bowed and turned to walk off. It seemed that as soon as he turned around a hand was placed on his shoulder. He turned his head back to look at the prince giving him a penetrating glare.

"You better pray that girl speaks to me again." He softly said with a slight growl to his words, "If she doesn't, you're fired."

With that said Neji walked off. He had been in the courtyards but as soon as he was out of sight of anyone he placed his hand on his forehead, kneeling down to the ground. He was leaving with his maid the day after he selected her? That completely messed up his plan of giving the girl space from all men. There's no way he could choose her now. He shook off his agitated feeling, standing up and heading towards a more private place to think and perhaps train a bit.

**In the Earth Country**

'_At the end of this week when I have to choose a maid. I'm going to call your name.'_

Shikamaru flinched as he woke up for the umpteenth time today. He just couldn't get what he said to that maid out of his head. So far she had insulted him, complained, and was found to be very opinionated which is what Shikamaru hated most in girls. So why did he chose her. It disturbed him that out of all the maids, he chose to spend the rest of his days with a personality like that. It was going to be like spending everyday with his mother. Did he really want that?

Shikamaru calmed his thoughts for a moment to clear his mind. _'Well I still have four days to change my mind. Just because I told her I would call her name, doesn't mean I have too.'_ Although, he could change his mind, the prince knew that deep inside he wouldn't. He knew he wanted this girl as his maid, even if he did not know why.

**In the Fire Country**

"My Goodness! Let the poor girl out!"

True to his word, the guard went to fetch Yuka and as soon as the elder lady got down all the steps and saw the pink haired girl in the cell she went into frenzy. The guard frantically searched through his set of keys while mumbling quick apologies. As soon as the door unlocked, Sakura stepped out and Yuka was immediately by her side.

"My dear!" Yuka exclaimed, placing a hand on Sakura's shoulder, "What happened to you?"

"It's nothing." Sakura replied, shrugging off the lady's hand

"Who did this?"

"Don't know…" Sakura emotionlessly replied as she started walking off, "It doesn't matter anyway"

Yuka just stood there with a hurt expression until she turned back to the guard, bowing slightly.

"Thank You for coming to get me"

The guard bowed deeply back in respect.

"I almost didn't believe the girl. She said a group of girls brought her down here, but only guards have keys."

Yuka looked back the way Sakura had left before she bowed back at the guard, thanking him once more before walking off to talk with the prince.

**In the Wind Country**

Tenten was walking down the hallway and stopped immediately at a fork in the path. She looked down one direction and then down the next as thoughts flowed through her mind.

'_You will respect me girl'_

'_Well, well it looks like the girl has started using manners. It looks like my methods are working'_

Tenten fell to the ground as tears rose to her eyes. She cupped both hands on each side of her head as the memories shot through her brain. Everything the guard said was ten times louder than any of her thoughts, resulting in a headache. She ground her teeth together trying to block out the sound and pictures as new ones filled her mind.

'_I believe the girl has told you to stop.'_

'_Does that look mutual to you?'_

'_You're not weak. It's your tears that make you strong. Looking pathetic, looking scared, showing such vulnerable emotions is a hard thing to do. It's people who can't do that, that are the weak ones.'_

'_Do you want to get out of these halls?'_

After everything those two had been through, why had the prince been so kind to her. After every insult she threw his way, why did he act so caringly. She didn't deserve his sympathy but yet when he brought her to her room, she felt thankful. She felt his kindness when he stopped in this fork in the hallway, and she felt his compassion when he turned down the left hall towards the maid quarters. When he made that turn down the left hall she felt something new towards him. She felt as though she could trust him, although she would never tell him that of course.

**In the Water Country**

"Agh!" Naruto screamed in frustration. He never knew picking out a maid would be such hard work. Kagiro had told him to be careful with whom he chose because just because he liked talking to them sometimes didn't mean he'd enjoy having them with him all the time. What did that even mean? If he enjoyed talking to someone how could he not enjoy their company?

"Hey Naruto!"

The blonde prince was suddenly pulled from his thoughts as he turned around to see an orange blur racing up to him.

"Oh hey Risa! What's up?"

"Not much. I just finished up my chores and saw you so I wanted to say hi." Naruto chuckled as the girl smiled cutely.

"You're done with your chores already?"

"Yup!" the girl chirped at him, "I was in the gardens today, and so I got done early. I always work fast in the gardens because back home we have a huge garden that I would always spend hours in."

"Oh really?" Naruto replied, smiling kindly. He loved talking to Risa, she always talked about her family and home and she always had good things to say about them. He figured she must be missing them all very much with the way she always talked about them. Her dad and her must have been very close. He continued listening to the girl as she talked about her past wondering what was really going on in her mind behind that constant smile she always had.

**In the Fire Country**

Sasuke had been walking around the castle for twenty minutes already. He kept telling himself he just felt like walking, but his eyes kept wandering in search for any sign of pink. He was walking through the gardens for the fourth time when he finally saw her. Again, she wore her green hat to hide her bubblegum locks.

Sasuke snuck up on the girl until he was about twelve feet away. The girl was covered in dirt smudges. Her stomach, her arms, everywhere was covered by blotches. Sasuke smirked at the back of the girl before he spoke.

"You know, the maids have a bath house in the castle too... or is it possibly that you like my personal shower better?"

The girl stiffened but didn't say anything.

"So you're not going to answer me? You must like spending the night in my headquarters."

"Are you finished yet?"

Sasuke froze at the girl's sharp voice. Usually it was filled with malice and very clear, but what he heard was filled with something close to fear and very hoarse. The prince did not know why, but he grew very annoyed.

"Come on. Let's go get you cleaned up." He replied, marching up to the girl and taking her by the arm. She gasped loudly and jerked away.

"Don't touch me!" she yelled

"What is your prob…" the prince cut himself off, looking at the splotches all over the girl's body.

"They're bruises…" he replied dumbfounded

"Stay away" the girl replied as if just talking to herself.

"Who did this?" he replied taking a step forward.

"I said stay away!" she screeched before running off as if he were the devil himself.

"Please, pardon her manners sir."

Sasuke turned around to see Yuka walking up behind him, "She had a really tough night. I found her in the dungeons this morning."

"Who did this?" Sasuke asked, but it sounded more like a command.

"We don't know and I don't believe she knows either. The guard in the dungeons said something about her telling him she was brought down their by a dozen or so girls. She told him they blindfolded her and when she was in the dungeon it was too dark to see.

"How is that possible? Only the guards have keys to the dungeons."

"That's what makes no sense." Yuka replied, "No one is missing their keys but the girl is sure the captors were all female. The guard said that Sakura first was asking for you but he didn't want to bother you if she was lying to him so she asked him to go get me. My guess is she's telling the truth. She said that the girl's were talking about you and if it were boys they would've probably sexually harassed her instead of using violence. Boy's would have no reason to harm her, but girls on the other hand…" Yuka paused, searching for the right words, "Well, you have been spending quite some time with the girl."

Sasuke ground his teeth in frustration. This was his fault. No wonder the girl treated him like the plague. He shouldn't have ever left her alone.

"Yuka"

"Yes sir"

"You said Sakura told the guard?"

"That's the girl's name sir"

"I see, you can leave."

Sasuke watched as Yuka bowed and walked off, then he called over a guard.

"Bring the girl to my room tonight. I have some things I must discuss with her."

**In the Earth Country**

'_At the end of this week when I have to choose a maid. I'm going to call your name.'_

Ino replayed yesterday in her mind a thousand times. Was he seriously going to chose her as his personal maid! If he was, he was probably making the biggest mistake of his life! She was always talking, and if she felt like complaining, nothing or no one could stop her. He seemed like the type of guy that would like the quiet, soft spoken girl. Not the loud, obnoxious one! Ino paused a moment before realizing that she had just insulted herself. She slammed her hands to her temples and threw her head back, letting out a scream of frustration. She had become so frazzled by what that guy had said that she was starting to insult herself.

"That's it!" she screeched, turning around and marching up the hill from the swamp that she unconsciously walked over to for no reason, "I'm going to have to tell him that he's making the biggest mistake of his life, or else… or else..."

'_You're pretty loud but, I could always send you off to the gardens if I get tired of hearing you or you could go there while I cloud gaze. Which is a majority of my day so what do you say?'_

Ino paused as what the prince had said earlier passed through her mind. She slowly turned around and sat down, halfway up the hill that she and the prince tumbled down into the swamps the first time they met. He knew she was a complainer, he had heard her complain about her green work outfit. He knew she was really loud from all the times they talked and he knew she could be a pain as she so obviously proved when she threw a fit about people seeing her after falling in the swamp.

'_I could tell him he's making the biggest mistake of his life…but perhaps he already knows that too.' _Ino thought as she laid back and gazed up at the sky looking at a cloud that was oddly shaped like a pineapple.

**In the Wind Country**

Thump, thump chock!

'_Palm heel, Palm heel, crescent kick!'_

Neji had been training on a small tree outside the castle, down a small hill near the back. The tree (being as small as it was) swayed every time Neji used a crescent kick. Neji brought his leg straight up and swung it down in an axe kick, breaking off three small branches.

"You should probably stop. I think the poor thing has had enough."

Neji turned around at the voice to see who it was. He realized at that moment that it had gotten pretty dark out. He hadn't realized it before because he was so lost in his training just trying to get his mind off of everything. Since he had been outside as the sun set, his eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness and he saw the silhouette of the girl he had been trying all day to stay away from. He could tell that it was her from the distinct two buns on her head. The girl stopped, about ten feet away.

"Anything wrong?"

"What are you doing here?" His voice came out sounding more rude than curious.

"Don't worry; I'm not trying to escape today. I wouldn't want to get caught and be taught anymore lessons. Ha ha…" she tried to make a joke out of what had happened to her but her laugh came out pretty shaky. All of the sudden it got a lot brighter out and Neji realized that there had been a cloud in front of the moon moments before. Neji watched as the girl didn't dare come any closer to him. "Isn't it past your bed time?" the girl teased and Neji smirked.

"What about you? Are you having trouble sleeping without me?"

The girl scoffed at the male teenager, "As if…" she paused a moment before continuing, "I'm having trouble sleeping at all."

"Is it because of yesterday?" the prince asked

The girl looked up at him and paused a second before laughing, "No way! I just have a hard time sleeping, that's all! Something as small as that has no effect on me whatsoev…" the girl flinched as she saw the prince marching forward. As soon as he got too close she started backing away. She had only taken three steps back when she tripped over a stick on the ground. The prince was knelt down on one leg in front of her moments later with a very serious expression adorning his face.

"Don't lie to me." It almost sounded like a warning even though he only just wanted her to tell the truth. He just wanted her to trust him. Even if she hated all other guys, as long as she trusted him he would be content. The girl looked at the boy's eyes and then the distance between them and flinched.

"Okay, I guess it might have shaken me up a bit."

Neji sighed and placed the other leg underneath him, kneeling on both legs now. This girl was just so stubborn sometimes. He looked up to see her staring at the ground. It was obvious the girl was still very uncomfortable around guys. "I won't let something like that happen again."

The girl looked up at Neji, her eyes were skeptical but she nodded nonetheless.

"It shouldn't have even happened once." Neji replied as he was now the one looking down at the ground. The girl watched the prince's expression as he looked at the ground. Due to the darkness, it was hard to see his face but it looked as if his head was hung down in shame. The girl slightly chuckled and stretched out one of her legs, softly kicking him to get his attention.

"It's not your fault. I fell asleep and this time it had nothing to do with staying up all night glaring at you."

Neji looked back up at the girl and she smiled softly. Before he even knew what he was doing, his hand reached out as he put it on her foot. She jerked away a little but he subconsciously tightened his grip.

"I want you to trust me."

The girl looked back into his serious eyes with a puzzled look.

"Just because of one thoughtless person, I don't want you losing your trust in other people."

The girl snorted out a laugh before replying, "I won't lose trust in other people just because of that." she paused moment before giving him a smirk and replying, "But you're out of luck, because I never trusted you before Mr. _If you're cold, you could always come over here_." Neji smirked back at the girl.

"I was honestly just looking out for your well being."

"Oh yeah?" the girl questioned, "Well that's honestly a bunch of hogwash."

Both of them laughed at the other persons' comments then it grew quiet. A moment of silence passed and finally Neji moved his hand slowly up her leg. As soon as it reached her knee he was kicked in the face.

"What the hell are you doing creep!" the brunette yelled immediately standing up and marching off. At first, Neji was shocked that she kicked him. Then he was shocked at himself. He was only trying to make sure she wasn't afraid of his touch anymore, but now that he thought about what he just did he realized that probably looked bad and she must've gotten the wrong idea. He was grateful of the darkened sky at the moment as his cheeks flushed at the thought of what that must've looked like to the girl and then his fears were confirmed as she turned around and shouted at him.

"I knew you were a perv!"

He literally was at a loss for words. He didn't want to explain because it'd be pointless. There'd be no way she'd believe him; he almost didn't believe himself.

"If you do that again, there's no way I'll start trusting you." Neji's eyes widened at that sentence as he looked up to the girl. She was at the top of the hill now, calling down to him. "I guess I owe you for helping me out the other day. So I'll trust you but if you try anything like that again, the deals off." The girl paused a moment before inserting, "And don't get the wrong idea. Just because I trust, doesn't mean I'll be any nicer to you. I still don't like you, so you can have my trust but that's it!" With that said the girl turned and marched off leaving Neji at the bottom of the hill, smirking to himself.

'_That's perfect'_

**In the Water Country**

"Oh wow! Look outside! It must be getting pretty late!"

Naruto glanced out the window that him and Risa passed by. The sun was starting to set. "You're right." He replied non-chantingly. The day had passed by quickly and he had spent most of it with Risa. Time always went by so fast when he talked with her. If he were to choose her as his maid, his days would just fly by, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. When time fly's by it means you're having fun. There's nothing wrong with that right? Naruto paused another moment before opening his mouth to speak.

"Hey Risa, I have something I want to ask you."

Risa smiled sweetly at him before replying, "Sure, ask me anything!"

"I was wondering if maybe, you wouldn't mind be…"

"Hey Risa!"

The orange head turned around as two other girls ran up to her, "We've been looking all over for you, where have you been?"

"Sorry guys, I've been talking to Naruto."

As soon as the prince's name was mentioned the girls realized the boy's presence and bowed at him before turning back to the orange headed girl.

"Come on! If we don't hurry up the dinner line will be huge!" the blonde said pulling Risa's arm.

"Sorry Naruto! I got to go! I'll talk to you later!" she replied before running off down the hall. He watched as the three girls rushed down the hall, crashing into a maid carrying laundry, causing her to lose all the clothes on the floor. The maid quickly knelt down to pick them all up and the three girls paused. They said something to the girl before rushing off back down the hall to the dinning hall without bothering to help the poor girl out. The way that two of the girls crashed into each side of the maid made it almost look as if it weren't an accident but then they paused (probably to apologize) so Naruto just shook it off as they were in a hurry to get something to eat. As Naruto approached the girl, her dark hair seemed fairly familiar and a smile unconsciously crept onto his face.

"And here you are a complete mess again." He joked as the girl frantically picked up clothes.

"I'm s-sorry, it was an a-accident. It w-wont happen again. I'll go rewash them all, I'm s-sorry."

"Are you kidding me?" Naruto shouted as the girl finally looked up and yelped in surprise at the prince, "We have maids that are in charge of cleaning these halls everyday! Don't bother with washing them all again! They're clean!"

Hinata didn't know what to say and slowing just nodded her head in agreement as the prince knelt down to help pick up the maid outfits. As soon as they were finished Hinata reached for the outfits in Naruto's hands but he held them out of reach.

"Nuh-uh-uh! I can carry some of them. Where do they go?"

"N-no! Y-you can't!" Hinata squeaked making another grabbed for the uniforms but Naruto was taller than her and managed to keep them out of her reach while laughing at her scared eyes at the thought of him helping her with chores.

"Yes I can, now where do they go?"

Hinata bowed her head in shame. The prince was always there helping her. She felt like such a burden to him. "It's the door right before the maid quadrants."

Naruto simply nodded his head before heading off with his pile of clothes with the shy girl trailing at his heels. They were almost to the maid quarters when he heard her mumbled a quick apology.

"Sorry"

"What for?"

"For causing all this trouble."

Naruto stopped and paused a moment, looking at the girl stunned before laughing, "It's no big deal! It's not trouble! I like helping you out." He gave a genuine smile as they arrived at the door. Hinata opened it up and placed the outfits on a table as Naruto did the same. She smiled shyly at him before bowing and thanking him. Naruto just nodded and stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do. After about thirty seconds of silence Naruto finally spoke up.

"Aren't you going to go get something to eat?"

Hinata started fidgeting with her hands before replying, "A-Actually, I have to sort these outfits by size and then d-distribute them to the right rooms."

"Oh great! I'll help!" Again Hinata protested against this but in the end was unable to shake the blonde prince's stubborn mind. Now, it's not like Naruto loved doing chores, in fact he wasn't a big fan of them at all. However; he had become a very big fan of spending time with this girl. It didn't matter what he was doing, as long as he was with her he was happy doing anything. Even if that meant doing nothing at all.

With the extra set of hands, Hinata and Naruto were able to finish twice as quickly but it still took quite a bit of time.

"Aw man! I'm starving!" Naruto shouted out loud as Hinata giggled. Again, she bowed and thanked him for his help and again he reminded her that it was no big deal. "So Hinata, are you going to head to the kitchen now? We can go together?"

Hinata blushed lightly but shook her head when she looked out the window, "It's g-getting late, I think I m-missed the maid's dinner time. I'll just wait for breakfast and head to my room for the n-night." She stuttered before turning to him with a soft smile. However what she saw was not what she expected. She didn't know a jaw could drop that low.

"You can't do that!" Naruto yelled, "You'll die if you have to wait that many hours before you eat! It takes five minutes practically to get down to the kitchen, and I don't even know if I'll be able to make it until then! Come on! You can eat with me! I'll just tell them to make extra!" He grabbed Hinata's wrist and started dragging her along down the hall. As soon as she processed what he had just said she jerked away.

"I c-can't do that!" to say the truth, Hinata really wanted too and not only because she'd be eating with Naruto but also because she really felt as if she would die if she waited until breakfast the next day. As soon as she received her meals everyday she would grabbed the easiest finger food on her tray before someone would come and knock it out of her hand. She usually only managed to grab a fruit from her tray before it was on the floor and she hated bothering people so she wouldn't get back in line. Besides it would be really embarrassing if she had to go ask for more food at every meal so usually she settled with the fruit she managed to snag, but she couldn't use that as an excuse to accept Naruto's offer could she?

Naruto look at the girl contemplating all the scenarios in her head before he walked up to her and bent over slightly to look her square in the eye as he lowered his voice and spoke in a soft, almost whisper.

"Come on Hinata-chan… I'll just ask them to make extra… I'm a prince, it's not like they can refuse my request… We can have a whole feast just to ourselves…"

Hinata thought a minute more. _'A feast huh, well I can't just refuse that… Who knows the next time I'll get to eat another decent meal.'_

Naruto smiled as the girl slowly nodded her head, accepting his offer and he took her hand again and lead her down the hall. She was definitely a girl of few words, but for some reason that was alright. Again Naruto hadn't really invited her along, worried about her health. In fact he probably would've insisted she come even if she made it to dinner. He just wanted to spend more time with her. Even though he knew the time may silent, he was okay with that. Just like with Risa, time passed by so quickly, but there was also another difference between the two. The difference between Risa and Hinata is that with Risa, when it was time for her to go, they'd say goodbye; however; with Hinata, when it was time to go Naruto always tried to find ways to make her stay longer. The difference was that with Hinata, when the time was up, he always wished that there was more. _'Maybe this is what Kagiro meant'_

**In the Fire Country**

A knock came from the door and Sasuke replied with a quick "come in".

A guard opened the door and shoved Sakura into the room. She sighed and looked over at the prince who was eyeing her more than usual. She was far from worried though. She knew he was just looking at her bruises. She could tell by the look on his face.

After another moment, Sakura sighed again, "Great, one day of freedom and I'm stuck back here again."

"You should be grateful!" Sasuke snapped without thinking

"Excuse me?" Sakura scoffed back. This prince sure thought highly of himself. Sasuke realized his mistake and corrected himself.

"Do you really think I'd let you spend another night in your room after what happened to you?"

"Why does it matter? Even if you plan on keeping me in here tonight, that won't stop them. Are you saying you're planning on making me stay every night here because that will only make those girls more jealous. I'm just a maid and as long as I get 'extra special' treatment, the worse this problem is going to get."

Sasuke paused as he searched for something to say. What the girl said made sense. As long as he treated her differently for no reason, the problem would not go away.

'_As long as I don't have a reason to treat her different.'_

Sasuke's eyes slightly opened as a thought struck him. He opened his mouth to speak when he was interrupted.

"I hate you"

Sasuke looked up to the girl who was glaring at him. Her glare looked even more menacing with the dark circles covering her left eye and right cheek bone. Sasuke had no retort to say because he did not blame the girl for what she said. All he could do was agree to what the girl said.

"I know"

"You're a despicable human"

"Yeah"

"You're selfish and pampered"

"I know"

"I've been yanked away from my family because you wanted new maids. My dad could be really sick, my mom could be dead, and I'm stuck here, working for you when I should be helping them." Sakura wasn't yelling as she down sized the male teen. Instead she spoke with such little emotion that it made the words feel twice as cruel, "I've been beat by some guards because I tried to stay home, because I tried to escape back home, and because I've laid a hand on your shoulder. I've been beat by a group of girls because you won't leave me alone and now I'm back here in this room, being forced to sleep in the same space with the man who caused all of my misery. Are you still wondering why I hate you so much?"

"No"

Sasuke felt like an idiot with his one worded replies but didn't have anything to say.

"I'm sorry"

Sasuke glanced back at the girl in surprise. Did she just apologize to him?

"What?"

"I hate you for many things. I hate you so much, but I still need to apologize to you. I hate you for all the pain you've caused me. All the pain I thought you could not feel. You can feel it though. You have felt it."

"I don't know what you're talk…"

"Your family" Sakura stated causing Sasuke to freeze, "What happened to them?"

**Holy Macaroni! (Yes I use that saying a lot… people) It is so hard keeping these stories on the same day! Anyway… The girls will meet soon… (It might be a couple more chapters because they have to become personal maids first but yes… soon indeed they will meet)… I also have to give my thanks to "PerfectPen" who has given me the idea to have them meet through Gaara… so Arigatou! =) R&R…!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Here it is! Chapter 10! It's the day before the maid selection ceremony! Read and enjoy! =)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto… (of course) haha**

**In the Water Country**

'_Hey Risa, I was thinking that maybe I could choose you as my personal maid in the selection ceremony tomorrow.'_

Hinata woke up with a jolt. What was that dream about? She quickly put on her work clothes and left the room to go look at her chores schedule as a bad feeling crept its way into her stomach.

When she arrived at the kitchen she stepped in line and sighed as the tray was knocked out of her hand on her way to a table. Unlike all the other sighs, this one was surprisingly one filled with relief. She looked up at the orange haired girl and her two minions and smiled softly.

"You have fun with Naruto last night?" Hinata's eyes widened in surprise at what the girl just said as she continued, "We didn't see you at dinner last night and rumor has it that someone saw you enter the kitchen and leave with the prince. Did you have a nice time?" Risa spoke with a sharp snap to her voice, and even though it sounded rather frightening, Hinata wasn't scared. Instead she smiled back at the girl.

"I missed dinner and he offered to let me eat with him. It was fun."

Risa just stared back at the girl in shock as Hinata quickly picked up the mess, tossing everything in the nearest garbage and walked out of the kitchen with the apple she managed to catch before it fell to the ground.

Hinata guessed that the girl was surprised that she answered the question like the girl actually cared to hear the answer. The shy girl was so happy of the memory of the night before that she hadn't realized that for once she didn't stutter.

**In the Earth Country**

"Hey Blondie!"

Ino groaned at the head maid's voice. What could she possibly want now? Ino had woken up late and was just on her way to the gardens.

"Hold it! You have a schedule change."

Ino stopped and the lilac haired girl ran up to her. The girl paused a moment to take a breather before stating, "You are to meet the prince at noon today."

"Why?"

Yuriko gave Ino a harsh glare before replying, "I don't make the orders… I take them… and then give them to others." Ino rolled her eye's as Yuriko continued, "Anyways, you are to meet the prince at noon."

Ino waited for Yuriko to continue but realized that the girl was waiting for Ino to ask the question first.

"Where?"

"At the swamps" Yuriko replied sweetly as she turned on her heels and walked away, leaving Ino alone as her eye started to twitch.

**In the Fire Country**

Sakura woke up on a nice soft bed. She immediately looked around and sighed. It had been two days since she last seen Sasuke. When she had asked about his family he immediately got angry with her and stormed out the door. The next morning when she woke up, the guards said that they had orders from the prince to make sure she didn't leave his room. She was furious with the thought of what the guards must've thought those two had been doing but Yuka later came in and explained that Sasuke had left for a few days on some business. Before he left he had made sure to tell the staff that while he was gone, Sakura was to rest in his room to help heal her wounds. Since he wasn't coming back for a while, Sakura decided that it wouldn't hurt to sleep in his bed. She sat up wondering just how long it was going to take until the prince came back.

**In the Water Country**

Hinata had been assigned to washing the hallway floors with a few other maids today. They split up the work evenly, each going a separate direction. Hinata was assigned to the east side of the castle, which meant the same side that Naruto's room was on. She started on the top floor and worked her way down. There were about four floors to the castle. She smiled softly when she reached the second floor, silently hoping that Naruto would leave his room as she passed by but to her disappointment he didn't. _'He's probably outside' _she thought to herself. She had realized that the prince loved to be outside either training or swimming. Hinata's thoughts were suddenly reverted to the first time they met. She was assigned to bring him his towel and she was so nervous. At the time, she was freaking out at the thought of talking to the prince, yet now she found herself wanting to willingly. She knew she was not that smooth of talker and she didn't talk a lot, but she enjoyed listening to him talk. She enjoyed his smile and laugh, along with his willingness to always help her. She did not know there was a prince out there that would offer his help and time to a maid, like he did. A prince that would strike up conversations with the maids and treat them as close friends, even though they had different statuses. Also, his attitude never ceased to amaze her. He always had a smile on his face although he had so many secret restrictions. Royalty was never allowed to leave the castle's outer walls without a bodyguard. Being royalty was stifling yet Naruto made it not look that way. He made the life of a royal look as grand as all the fairytales explained it to be, although his parents were probably the reason he could make that look so. From what Hinata had learned about his parents so far, just like the prince himself, his parents seemed to be different from most royalty. They seemed to have a deeper understanding and compassion for those less fortunate. If only all royals acted that way.

Without realizing it, Hinata had finished the second floor and had already started on the main floor. She would've realized it later if she hadn't been pulled out of her thoughts by the girl standing in her way.

"Excuse me" she replied moving around the girl.

"Don't think I'm just going to let you off that easily, freak." Risa replied as she walked right next to the shy girl, mopping the floors, "You didn't think you could just get off that easily by walking away this morning right?"

"I d-don't know what you're t-talking about?" Hinata replied quietly as she continued mopping, getting Risa very agitated.

"Hey, look at me when I talk to you!" the orange head called, roughly grabbing Hinata's wrist.

Snap!

Hinata's eyes widened as little white beads fell to the floor. Within the next second Hinata was on the ground picking them up frantically. It wasn't that she was afraid of getting in trouble if anyone saw it had broken but the fact was that Naruto had given this bracelet to her on her second day at the castle. Sure, everyone else had gotten bracelets almost identical to hers but Naruto had delivered hers to her in person. Risa stared for a moment at the frantic girl before smirking.

"Serves you right for not listening to me"

"Hey Risa!"

Both girls froze at the sound of the blonde prince's voice. Luckily Naruto had only seen Risa because they were standing in a cross section in the halls so Hinata slowly stood up, with her back against the wall. Risa saw the girl blush from just hearing the prince's voice and smirked. She might as well remind this girl that she was no match for her at all.

"Hey Naruto," Risa called sweetly, changing her voice completely, "What's up?"

Naruto stopped in front of the girl out of breath. He had been thinking hard about his decision that he had to make the next day and he finally knew what he wanted. As soon as he figured it out he went to search for whichever of the two girls he could find first.

"I've been thinking about that question I wanted to ask you yesterday." Naruto started off as Risa's face lit up.

"That's right! I totally forgot about that! I'm so sorry! What was it?"

Risa stopped talking, anticipating what the prince wanted to ask. The girl around the corner however, was not anticipating it. The same feeling that crept into her gut this morning after her dream had mysteriously found its way back to her stomach.

"Well," the blonde stretched out the word, making sure this was really what he wanted to say before continuing, "I was thinking that maybe I could choose you as my personal maid in the selection ceremony tomorrow…"

Before she knew what she was doing, Hinata turned down the hall dragging her mop behind her as tears fell from her eyes silently. Even though the prince hadn't spoken that loud, his words rang through her head. She couldn't hear anything else except his last sentence. She especially couldn't hear the soft clink of a small white bead she missed that was buried in the mops tangled strings. The bead rolled until it hit the side of Risa's foot; the small blue 83 was facing the direction the girl had left, as if it were smiling at the girl's misery.

**In the Wind Country**

Today was the day! He didn't know how, but some way he'd find out her name. Neji knew this wasn't going to be an easy task but he also knew that it had to be done. If he did not find out her name today he wouldn't have a name to call out at the selection ceremony tomorrow and he refused to let some elder pick a maid for him. He had made his choice. Heck! He had made his choice as soon as she made that huge fuss during the rule establishment ceremony. He knew from that very moment that she was the only maid interesting enough to become his personal maid and she only confirmed it later when he offered her a spot next to him in bed and she refused to even sleep in the same room as him.

The prince looked outside at the sun in the middle of the sky before realizing that it was already afternoon and he shouldn't waste anymore time thinking. He then headed off to the kitchen hall where he knew the maids were all eating their lunch.

**In the Earth Country**

Ino had made it to the swamp and the prince was nowhere in sight so she took this time to complain.

"Why do we always have to meet at this puddle of mud?"

"Because it's convenient"

The blonde turned around and was faced with the lazy teen as if he had appeared out of thin air.

"What's so convenient about this place?"

"Well, I figured that since we had such an impact when we first met, you wouldn't have any trouble finding this place."

Shikamaru smirked and Ino opened her mouth to snap back at him but couldn't find the right words to say. He was right. If he would've asked them to meet at his room she probably would've gotten lost and if he would've met her in the cafeteria or gardens there'd be bound to be maids there which could just make it harder for her later if she had to explain what the prince wanted with her. It was at this moment that Ino realized that she still didn't know the reason for that herself.

"So why exactly did you call for me today? The selection ceremony is tomorrow."

Shikamaru looked her in the eyes before replying, "Actually, that's why I asked for you. I thought it might be smart if before just going and calling your name tomorrow, I checked out what it would be like to have you as a maid. I know that only one day won't give me enough time to make a good judgment but it might put my mind at ease a bit from this feeling that I'm making a big mistake."

Ino huffed at the prince. He had just insulted her! "If you think you're making a mistake then just call someone else's name tomorrow."

"If I do that you won't be able to continue to go to the gardens whenever you want."

Ino paused as the prince said this. He did have a point.

"Besides," Shikamaru continued, "My thinking has been wrong before and my gut is telling me to pick you." There was a moment of silence before Shikamaru sighed and stated, "I usually always listen to what my brain tells me, but I think that I should trust my gut on this one. In a way, my brain is telling me to trust my gut."

Ino paused, trying to understand what the prince was saying, "Okay…?'

Shikamaru could tell just by the way the girl said okay that she was confused as to what he was getting at. He sighed again as he thought about what to say. He replayed the message four or five different ways in his head before realizing that no matter which way he said it, it was going to sound dumb, so he sucked in his pride and spoke.

"So today, I just want you to cloud gaze with me a bit. It's a simple task really."

There was an awkward silence before the blonde answered, "Okay… I think I might be able to manage that."

The prince looked up at the girl as she smiled softly and gave him this look that automatically stated, 'I'm following you.'

With that Shikamaru turned around and walked away, knowing that the girl was trailing behind him.

**In the Water Country**

"I was thinking that maybe I could choose you as my personal maid in the selection ceremony tomorrow." Naruto stated to the stunned girl. She was speechless. He had actually picked her. She always acted tough and confident but to say the truth, she felt as scared and weak as Hinata always looked. She was envious of the girl who was so afraid but still continued on with everything she did. Not only was Risa low on confidence but she was afraid to show it, most of all. She was instantly pulled away from her thoughts as Naruto continued.

"I mean… that's what I thought at first, but I have an honest question to ask you... and I'd like the truth." Naruto paused a moment as a layer of silence covered the two teens before he continued, "If you had the choice would you go back home?"

Risa immediately opened her mouth to answer but Naruto put a finger up to her lips to stop her. She looked into his serious eyes. They weren't looking for what he wanted to hear. They were looking for the truth.

"Tell me the truth…please."

She paused another moment before sighing, "I miss them. All the time I miss them but I do like it here. I like talking to you. You're honest and always yourself. Back home, I was really close with my family because I didn't have many friends. I was really shy and whenever I tried to be outgoing, people didn't like it. They thought I sounded like a fake and when I tried to sound different they took me for a snob. Here I've made two new friends and you too. I miss home but I know that wherever I am I won't be lonely."

Naruto thought about the girl's words for a moment before he sighed again and smiled at the girl. "Would you want to go home though?" he asked again.

The girl looked down to the ground, deep in thought before looking back up at him. "Well, what about that personal maid thing you were just talking about?" she asked, changing the subject.

"I was actually getting to that…" Naruto replied, thinking of the right way to put it, "I really enjoy our time together. You always are happy and smiling around me, and you talk a lot which I like so I never would have took you to be the shy type. I would've guessed that you'd be happy here because you're always so cheerful, but as I thought about it I realized that all your stories involve your family. My family was taken away from me a few years ago and hearing you talk about them always reminds me of how much I miss them."

"I'm sorry," Risa quickly injected, "I can quit talking about them if you wa.."

"No!" Naruto stated quickly, "That's actually the opposite of what I want. I love hearing all the stories about the fun times you've had with your family. It really brings me back and to tell you the truth, when we speak about other things you act different. It's like you're always yourself when you talk about them and I just can't help but think that in order to always be yourself, you have to be with them."

"That's… I…" Risa searched for something to say but Naruto beat her to it.

"That's why tomorrow at the assembly, I going to announce to everyone that I requested that anyone who wishes to go back home may do so."

"What?"

"I've took one person away from each family and I caused so much pain. You love your family and so many others feel the same."

"But I want to stay h…"

"Don't say that. If anything, don't say that… Don't do this for you… Do this for me, so I can find peace for my wrong doing. Do this for your family that probably misses you so much right now. Go back to them. Go back for them."

Again there was another long silence before Naruto turned around to walk off. He took one step when he heard the girl speak.

"Okay… I'll go… If that will make you feel better, I'll go…"

Naruto frowned as the girl said this. Sure, this is what he wanted, but he was still losing a close friend.

"Naruto"

"Yeah?" Naruto turned around as the girl smiled brightly at him and bowed.

"Thank you for taking care of me!" With that said the girl turned around and walked away, so the prince wouldn't see her tears.

Naruto looked down towards the ground with a frown and something glistened on the floor. He went over and picked it up. It was a bead, no doubt from one of the maid bracelets. He looked at the girls retreating back. Her hands were hung at her sides, swaying slightly as she walked away, her bracelet still intact on her wrist. Naruto looked back down at the bead in his hand and turned it over lightly. A blue number showed up and Naruto's eyes widened. He still had yet to talk to Hinata. Where did she go?

**In the Wind Country**

"Hey"

The brunette turned around to be faced with what seemed to be her worst nightmare . . . or at least that's how it felt to the prince once he saw her face of pure horror.

"Oh god… Who let you in?" she whined

Neji kept his composure as he replied, "I'm the prince, not a dog. I can go wherever I please."

"Why did I pick today of all days to eat inside? That is just my luck." The girl sighed in frustration as Neji took a deep breath, trying not to lash out from embarrassment. He had never known that being insulted in front of other people could be so embarrassing.

He took one more deep breath before deciding that he refused to be embarrassed by this girl. He was a prince and there was no way he'd allow being embarrassed, not by himself. If this girl wanted to make a fool of him; so be it; but he sure wouldn't sit back without putting up some sort of fight.

Before the girl knew what was happening the prince had sat down next to her. She felt eyes staring at the scene all around the room as she watched the prince smirk and rest his head on his hand propped up on the table.

"Well I was up all night, just thinking about what happened yesterday and I can't get it out of my head."

The prince's voice wasn't yelling but louder than his normal tone as he spoke and the girl looked at him skeptically wondering just what he was up to.

"In fact anytime we're together is like a brand new experience and I was just thinking of how nice it would be if we could be like that all the time." His smirk slightly grew and the brunette girl started to catch on.

"Oh hell no"

"Oh hell yes," Neji smirked as the girl looked at him in shock at what she knew he was going to say next, "We always have so much fun together and I was thinking that tomorrow at the ceremony I'd call your name." He paused a moment before continuing, "The only problem is I have yet to learn your name." Neji then turned away from the girl and to the maid eating her meal on the other side of him before asking kindly, "Do you by any chance know this girls name?"

"I do!" a girl shouted who was sitting across from him, "It's Chizuru!"

"No, it's Honaka!"

"You're both wrong. It's Matsumi!"

Within the next moment the entire hall was arguing over what the brunettes name was and Neji turned back to face the girl who was now wearing a very smug look. He watched as she slowly leaned toward him and bent forward to speak in his ear so he could hear her over all the ruckus.

"You really think I'd trust anyone here. If anyone in this castle knows my name, they would be the ones that are keeping silent right now."

With that said the girl turned to walk away but slightly jumped as the prince appeared right behind her to whisper in her ear.

"You won for today, but by tomorrow I will know your name and I will call it out in front of everyone. I can guarantee you that."

Neji smirked and pushed past the girl and crowd of arguing maids, leaving the giant room and heading to his own room to think of a new plan.

**In the Earth Country**

"Well I think it's about time to head back." Shikamaru said getting up and starting towards the castle. They had been cloud gazing (just like Shikamaru said) for the entire day and the blonde did great. She wasn't loud or obnoxious. She hardly even spoke. She pointed out a cloud every once in a while if she thought it looked like something in particular but other than that she stayed silent. Shikamaru even looked over to find her sleeping at one time.

"I think I'll stay out here a bit longer."

Shikamaru paused and turned back to the girl.

"But it's getting dark and the clouds are gone."

"Exactly… The stars are about to come out." Shikamaru listened as Ino continued talking, "I love star gazing. Don't get me wrong, flowers are beautiful but stars… They're amazing. Clouds are nice during the day, but they always pass through the sky. Stars are always constant. They light up the sky in the darkest hours of the night and even though you can't see them in the daylight, they are always there. They're always watching over us."

Shikamaru just listened to the girl. The way she talked about the stars was like how he would talk about clouds.

"Don't you think it makes the perfect combination?"

Shikamaru was pulled from his thoughts again by the girl, "What?"

"I said, don't you think the clouds and stars make the perfect combination. Clouds pass through the sky and seem to blow away all your troubles. Stars stay with you in the dark to comfort you through the night. With both of them you could sky gaze all the time. Not to mention, since one helps me with my troubles and the other helps me with my fears, the only bad feeling left is anger which I can always take out on you." Ino giggled at her joke as Shikamaru smirked and heard the girl sigh.

"With this, I could always be happy."

Maybe he was hearing things, because the girl stood still; gazing at the sky as if she'd been frozen for years, but he could have sworn he saw her lips move and there was a light blush adorning her cheeks. He couldn't help but smile, slightly. This girl was loud, complaining, and at times; annoying, but she also had some good points. She had the passion that he lacked, she had the voice that he didn't, she showed her opinion that he kept silent, and above all, she understood him. She might not be as smart as him and she might like to sky gaze at night when he would rather be sleeping, but she seemed to understand things about him that no one else could. It seemed like she had figured out more about him than he had about her and yet she was the one doing most of the talking.

"Look! The first star!"

Shikamaru looked up to the small diamond, shining down on them. Clouds were beautiful because of their many shapes but stars were beautiful in their own way. He looked back at the girl who kept her gaze on the sky, and before he had realized what he was doing he had walked back over to the girl and sat down next to her.

She looked over to him and smiled, "It's always better to sky gaze with someone, don't you think?"

'_I don't think I'd love the clouds as much if your mom wasn't there to watch them with me.'_

Shikamaru's eyes widened in shock for a moment as what his father used to say filled his head before he smiled softly and turned to the girl still looking at him.

"Yeah I do"

With that said, he turned back to the sky and the two teens sat again in silence. Shikamaru knew at that moment that he was not going to change his mind. Tomorrow, he was going to call this girl's name and even though she might be troubling at times, he knew he would not regret it.

**In the Fire Country**

"Hey"

Sakura moaned as she felt someone nudge her.

"Wake up"

She rolled over in her covers and buried her face in the pillow.

"Fine… If you won't wake up, we'll just have to sleep together."

Sakura immediately sat up, like she had just woken up from a nightmare, but she hadn't. Turns out it was real.

She glared at the teen who just simply replied, "You're in my bed"

Sakura then remembered where she was and looked around the room. She had been so bored that she decided to go to bed early. She had no clue that the prince would be returning today. She then processed what he just said and blushed.

"I-I'm sorry… I just fell asleep and… and… wait a minute? Where were you?" She didn't have to explain herself to him. He was the one that left her trapped in this room the past few days with no explanation.

Sasuke froze for a minute, but then reached into his pocket, withdrawing an envelope.

He handed it over to the puzzled girl and she asked, "What's this?"

Sasuke didn't answer the girl but just turned around to go use the restroom. She stared at his back until he disappeared and then she looked back down at the envelope that had her name on it. She curiously opened it and then her eyes widened at its contents.

_My dear Sakura,_

_I do hope you are doing well. I don't know where to begin. You're mother had gotten much worse since you left and I was afraid that she wasn't going to make it until the other day. Thank you so much for asking the prince for help. I was really surprised to see him visit us personally. I was really angry at first but as soon as he told me that you were doing fine and that he had come to take a look at your mother under your request, my hatred slowly went away. I have to say that both your mother and I miss you very much, but thanks to you she has been doing much better, even though it has only been a day. I think the confirmation of your health and the top medics here have already had a major effect. Again, we both miss you very much but the prince has told us about his new mail system that he is going to create. Isn't that great! With this, we'll always be in touch, and the prince has also offered to let us come visit the castle when your mother gets better. We both can't wait to see you again and love you very much._

_With the deepest gratitude, Dad_

Sakura hadn't realized her tears until a teardrop stained the paper. She quickly wiped her eyes as the bathroom door opened and Sasuke stepped out.

"I didn't ask for your help" Sakura stated as Sasuke looked up at her.

"I know"

"What's this new mailing system?"

Sasuke sighed. He should've guessed the old man would write about the conversation they had. Sasuke walked over to his balcony to close the doors as the cool breeze was starting to freeze up the room.

"I plan to announce it at the maid selection ceremony being held tomorrow. I have decided to send multiple horsemen out to different towns every two weeks. The maids will be able to write back to their families and the horsemen will spend a night in the town to give the families time to write back. That's the most I can do for now, since I'll probably get flack from the elders about this, but I later plan on sending a carriage to a different town every week and letting two families come visit for a week. We have extra rooms and a few extra people in the castle won't harm anyone. The maid will be let off of her duties the week her family is up, but again no harm will come from letting two maids every week have time off." Sakura was speechless and the prince continued, "I have made everyone in this castle feel my pain of losing everything they held dear. I would give anything just to hear my parent's voices or know they're doing well. I don't want other's to suffer family loss when their parents are still out there. They'll have to feel that pain soon enough in their life."

Sakura listened to the prince and couldn't help but ask one more time, "What happened to your family?" She was ready for him to start yelling at her and storm out of the room again but he must've been tired from traveling because instead he just sighed, sitting on the opposite side of the bed with his feet still on the ground and his eyes looking down at them.

"It was an ordinary day. My parents went off to sign a peace treaty with the Wave Country. I had been to one treaty signing before when I was younger and I caused a scene so they thought it'd be best if I didn't come. They wanted my brother to go to with them since he was next in line for the throne but he had caught a cold so they went without either of us. Two days later, I had been outside in the garden when I was called inside. We went into my brother's room where he was resting. I had found this to be a little strange. Usually we would get word of our parents safe arrival from the country's palace, but we had never needed to be together to hear the news." Sasuke sighed before continuing on, "Then the messenger told us that our parents would not be returning. A week later Itachi had gotten better and the next day he was gone."

Sakura didn't know what to say. To lose your parents but still have the hope that you at least had someone there like your sibling only to have them disappear. He didn't only know the pain of having two people ripped away from him, but also the pain of someone who chose to leave him, and at the time he was most vulnerable too.

"I'm sorry…"

Sakura glanced up at the prince who had just apologized to her as he lied down next to where she was sitting up. If he had cried, the tears had magically disappeared. The tears may have gone, but the sorrowed look was still there. "Sorry for what?"

"For taking you away from them"

Sakura was about to reply back, but shut her mouth as the prince added, "And for promising your parents that I'd make sure to keep you safe…"

Sakura paused. He had promised her parents what? She was about to question him on it but again he continued.

"So in order to keep my promise, I'm calling your name at the ceremony."

'_So that's what the apology is for' _Sakura thought before replying, "What?"

The prince quit talking and Sakura grabbed his shoulder as he tried to turn away from her. He turned back and looked her directly in the eyes, causing her to freeze immediately. Again, the tears were gone but you could see the faint trace of a stain on one side of his face. Sakura then realized the prince may have changed the subject on purpose but that did not mean he forgot about it that easily. She took a deep sigh before leaning over the prince to turn off the light switch and lay down beside him.

Sasuke's eyes widened as he felt the girl lay back down and questioned her, "What are you doing?"

"Sleeping" she replied.

Seconds later Sasuke felt as two arms wrapped around his torso and was about to question the girl again when she answered, "I do not forgive you yet for what you did, but I thank you for what you've done. Tomorrow we'll go back to normal, but tonight, we're friends. Friends who understand and share each other's pain of loss."

Sasuke opened his mouth to tell her how cheesy she sounded, but he couldn't speak. He had lost his voice as silent tears escaped from his dark eyes. So instead, he settled with reaching down for one of the arms wrapped around his waist and tangled their fingers together as both teens slowly fell asleep.

**That's all for this chapter! =) So sorry for the long wait… Blame it on Tenten and Neji's POV… I just couldn't think of anything to write for theirs and even though I have stated before that on some chapters I might leave out one country's POV I still felt it was to soon to at least not have a little something from everyone's POV…**

**Anyways sorry for any grammar mistakes and to answer some more questions… The girls will be meeting soon… maybe a few more chapters from now… plz Read and Review! ^.^**


	12. Chapter 12

**A New Chapter… =) Read and enjoy! Thanks to all who reviewed!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

**My Prince Charming**

**Chapter 11**

**In the Fire Country**

Sakura woke up, slowly opening her eyes to come face to face with a black blob. Memories of the night before filled her mind as she stared at the back of the Fire prince's head.

'_Well, this is backwards'_ she thought, looking down at her arms wrapped around his torso. She always thought that if they were to end up in this position, he'd be the one pinning her down; not the other way around. She quickly untangled their hands and climbed out of bed. She went over to the door and placed her hand on the knob as a thought crept through her mind.

'_They told us our parents wouldn't be returning. The next week he got better and the next day, he was gone.'_

Sakura's hand slowly fell from the door knob as she turned back around and headed towards the bed. She stopped in front of the prince and knelt down, examining his sleeping face. She smiled gently as she softly ran her fingers through his hair once to smooth it out.

"Sasuke! You better be up! Do you have any idea what time it oh!"

Sakura bolted up right as the door slammed open and Yuka entered with the head guard at her side. Everyone stood with wide-eyes in an awkward silence as Sasuke rolled onto his back, rubbing his eyes with his palms before opening them. The first thing he saw was the girl standing next to him as she took a few more steps away from him. At first he was confused, but when the events of the previous night came back to him his look of confusion turned into one of arrogance and he smirked at the girl.

"Why hello" he said seductively, propping himself on his elbows that were behind his back as she blushed but didn't bother to glare or even look at him. He looked forward at what Sakura found to be so interesting and was faced with the elderly maid and head guard. His eyes widened slightly and a tinge of pink adorned his cheeks, but it was hardly noticeable.

"I w-was just about to wake him up." Sakura replied awkwardly as Yuka smiled.

"Is that so…" Yuka replied. Sakura could tell from the old lady's voice that she didn't believe her but she also seemed more amused than upset. "Well I just came to tell the prince to get ready for the selection ceremony. It's obvious he's already chosen his maid but he still has to announce it to everyone to make it official and talk about the new mailing system."

"I got it" Sasuke replied while swinging his legs over the side of the bed and sitting up. Yuka smiled, bowed and left with the chief guard in tow.

Sakura stood awkwardly in embarrassment as Sasuke smirked at her.

"So do you want me to lay back down so you can wake me up properly?"

_Whack!_

"Wake up… It's morning."

With that said, Sakura left Sasuke to tend to the newly formed lump on his head by himself.

**In the Earth Country**

"Sir, it's time." Yuriko replied as the prince turned around from the window he was gazing out.

"Yeah, I know"

**In the Water Country**

"Now, if you'd all bow before your prince before taking a seat."

Everyone did as they were told before kneeling on the ground. Even though it was a maid selection ceremony, everyone in the castle was required to come.

The elder cleared his throat before continuing, "We are all gathered here today to hear the name of the special girl our very own prince has chosen to be his personal maid, but before that the prince would like to make a very import…"

The elder stopped as the prince tapped on his shoulder. Whispering could be heard from the first few rows as the prince leaned to whisper something in his ear. The elder listened and then nodded before he spoke.

"The prince has decided to call his maid forth now instead. Now prince, please state the name of your choice."

Naruto nodded once, smiling before clearing his throat.

"Will Hinata please step forward?"

The room went completely silent for a moment as it was now the elder's turn to lean in towards the prince.

"Is there a last name that comes with that my prince?"

Naruto thought a moment before replying with a quick nope.

The elder paused one more moment before announcing, "Will all the Hinatas in the room step forward."

With that said, within the next few minutes six girls were standing up front. Naruto glanced through the small line of girls and took a quick glance around the giant room before turning back to the elder.

"None of these are her."

The elder nodded his head, clearing his throat as he announced again, louder this time, "Will _all_ the Hinata's please step forward."

Little did they know, the person they were seeking was frozen near the back of the giant hall.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?

Hinata jumped at the sudden voice and turned around.

"He's calling you. You better hurry up and get up there." Risa replied with her usual snobbishness.

"B-but I heard ealier…"

She was shoved back a bit as Risa pushed her forward, "I don't care what you heard earlier. What did you hear right now because I heard him call out your name."

"B-but there's s-so many people. I c-can't go up there."

"You better. I already promised Naruto I'd go back home and there's no way I'm going to let _two_ girls beat me. If you don't show, he'll be forced to choose another and that doesn't go over to well with me."

"Will all Hinata's please step forward." The elder called one final time, starting to get irritated.

Everyone in the room was whispering and looking around for the missing girl. There's no way Hinata could have all that attention on her… To bad she didn't get a choice.

"She's back here" Risa called carelessly, not taking her eyes off the petrified girl.

As soon as the sentence left her mouth, the crowd parted like the red sea and the two girls stood smack dab in the middle of an empty aisle. Risa didn't seem to mind as she grabbed the statuesque girl and started dragging her down the aisle. She stopped at the front and let go of the girl's wrist.

"She was too scared to step forward in front of everyone."

Naruto looked with concern at the extremely pale girl as did the elder before asking, "What is your last name?"

Hinata's eyes widened, almost as if in horror before looking down. She couldn't tell them her last name.

"I will repeat only once more. What is your last name?"

Again the girl stayed silent but shut her eyes to make sure she was prepared for whatever consequences there may be.

"Why does it matter?"

Everyone turned to the prince who walked down from his throne, grabbing the shy girl and bringing her back up the few steps.

"She is the maid I have chosen. No last name will change that. All of you in this room can see her clearly. None of you look like her. It doesn't matter if we know her last name or not because there's no way anyone can mistake who she is."

The room went silent for the umpteenth time before little by little the people started clapping for the new personal maid. When the room quieted back down Naruto continued, "As for the important announcement; I have decided to let anyone who wishes to return home do so. You are no longer obligated to work here and may return to your families. If you want to continue working here that is your choice and if you want to just go visit your families that is also permitted. We'll make do with whoever's left that decides to stay. All I ask is that when you leave you all check out at the front gate. Give the guard your name, maid number, and tell him whether you are leaving permanently or just going to visit. That's all thank you. You may all leave."

The elder started to protest as the people started filing out of the enormous room but Naruto held up a hand to stop him before walking out of the room.

**In the Wind Country**

"There is no need to seat yourselves for this. It will only take a few minutes." The elder announced as everyone stood around in the giant throne room, "I'm sure the prince has put a lot of thought into this and has finally made his decision as to the name he will be calling today. The name called will no longer have to do scheduled chores and will spend the day by the prince's side from early morning until nightfall. They will also receive a new set of work and night clothes. Now if you will all listen quietly as the prince calls out the name."

The room went silent as everyone waited to hear the special girl's name. One girl was especially curious as to the name that he would call as she waited patiently. She hadn't told a soul her name since she left home. Even the person who took the names as they were escorted from the carriages did not know her name. She refused to tell him and after a lot of arguing he could only let her have her way or else the girl would miss the rule ceremony. He said he'd get her name later but he had yet to find her again. Finally after a minute of silence Neji spoke.

"Seiko, Matsuri, Shira"

The elder silently stepped up to the prince confused, "You're only suppose to call one name my highness."

Neji sent a glare his way, "I believe I can do whatever I want. Please call them forward."

The elder simply nodded and called, "Anyone with the stated names, step forward."

Silently and quickly, about seven girls stepped forward. Neji scanned the row of girls before nodding his head and politely asking if they would step outside the room for a minute. The girls bowed and started to walk towards the door at the other side of the room as whispers of confusion floated around the room.

"Konoka, Setsuna, Kaede"

Six more girls made their way up front and were asked to leave the room.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Neji smirked at the girl who stepped out from the crowd and the elder looked as if he were about to have a heart attack at the way this girl spoke to the prince.

"You were telling the truth." He stated simply

"What?"

"You really didn't tell anyone your name."

"Of course not. You didn't believe me?"

"Why would I?"

Everyone in the room watched in silence as the two conversed as if they were the only two in the room.

"Well," the girl stated, "If you want me to trust you, it's only fair that you trust me first."

"Well, then will you tell me your name?"

"No"

Neji smirked and looked forward at the crowd of people in front of him before sighing.

"Chisara, Teru, Kisa please step forward"

"Hey!" the brunette called, stomping forward, "You never answered my question."

"You must not talk to the prince that way!" the elder stated exasperatedly. He looked as if he had just been hyperventilating. Neji just raised his hand tell him it was alright.

"What question?"

"What the hell are you doing?" the girl repeated.

Neji paused a moment before retorting, "You never answered my question."

"And what question is that?"

"What is your name?"

The prince smirked at this and the girl sighed while childishly replying back with her own smirk, "I asked you first."

Neji's smirk grew slightly before he let out a sigh of his own, "Fair enough. I plan on calling out every name I know until I get to yours."

"That's insane. You'll never guess it." The girl smirked but almost shivered as the boys smirk grew to be very arrogant.

"Then you better be prepared to spend another night with me because you're not leaving until I know your name."

The young female blushed a deep red as whispers broke out in the crowd.

"Fine"

Neji smirked. "Fine what"

"I'll tell you my name… but"

Neji paused and gave the girl a look that obviously said, "go on".

"That's it. I will only tell you my name. I refuse to tell everyone here."

Again, Neji paused to think about it as guards and maids alike glared at the rude girl standing in front of them all.

"Fine," the prince finally stated before standing up to face the crowd, "You all must take a good look since you will not know her name. This is the girl I have chosen. If anyone objects, address me if you dare but I can guarantee you that it won't make the slightest difference. That is all. You are all excused." With that said the prince left the room without another word.

"Oddly enough I think I see why he chose her," A random maid could be heard from where the brunette was standing, "they're _both_ stubborn and rude."

**In the Water Country**

"H-hey Risa! W-wait up!"

The orange haired girl rolled her eyes and stopped suddenly, causing the shy teen to crash into her as she turned around.

"What do you want?"

Hinata took a few steps back, apologizing quietly.

"T-Thank you f-for earlier at the c-ceremony."

"I don't know what you're talking about"

Hinata smiled sweetly as the other girl glared back at her. If it wasn't for Risa, Hinata wouldn't have gone up in front of everyone and even though it nearly scared her to death when Risa called all the attention on them she knew that it was the way Risa was showing her kindness to her. And for that, Hinata was grateful.

"W-well thanks anyway"

"Yeah yeah"

"Hey Hinata!"

Both teens turned around and saw the prince running towards them. He stopped in front of them and turned to the red-head.

"Hey Risa, I'm glad you haven't left yet. I was really hoping to get the chance to thank you for earlier."

Risa smiled sweetly at the prince, just like she always did before stating, "Well, now's your chance. I'm about to go and finish packing."

A moment paused before Naruto stepped forward and embraced the girl in a hug, taking her completely off guard.

"Thank you for everything"

After the initial shock wore off she slowly wrapped her arms around his torso and whispered into his shoulder.

"And thank you"

Hinata stood silently… awkwardly… It wasn't like she could leave. I mean the prince had just called her name which meant he had something to say to her.

After about five seconds Risa and Naruto broke apart with huge grins on both of their faces.

"Well," Naruto stated, "feel free to come back and visit anytime."

"I will" Risa replied, "Goodbye"

With that said she turned away and ran off. Halfway down the hall she was stopped by the two girls she always hung around with and they walked off together.

"Bye…" Naruto whispered.

It only took about two more seconds before the blonde turned to the other girl who jumped slightly at his intense stare.

"May I talk to for a few minutes?" he asked with complete seriousness. Hinata was quite confused as to why he would ask his own personal maid if he could talk with her but decided she'd find out sooner of later and simply nodded. Naruto then walked off and Hinata followed. It hadn't been until they reached the gardens that the prince finally sat down under a tree. The shy girl quietly took a seat next to him. She looked over at the usually chipper prince who was dead serious about whatever was going through his head.

"N-Naruto?"

The prince looked at her as soon as she said his name and gave a soft smile before speaking.

"So, you were scared back there."

It took only a second for Hinata to realize he was talking about the ceremony. "Y-yeah" She watched as the prince's face turned to one of dejection and quickly tried explaining, "I w-was afraid of all the attention. It had n-nothing to do with you c-calling my name."

"About the new rule… You were listening… Right?"

"Y-yes"

"So you heard my newest proposition?"

Hinata paused a moment before answering, "Y-yeah, that was a v-very kind thing to…"

"You can leave too if you want."

It only took about two seconds to process what the blonde had said before Hinata questioned, "W-what?"

"If you want to go home you may."

This silence was longer than the last as Hinata thought of what to say. She wanted to say she would like to stay but what if this was the prince's way of telling her he wanted her to leave.

"I-is that what you want?" Hinata almost fainted at her bold statement. She meant to say 'if' but she actually ended up asking him what he wanted her to do.

Naruto thought for a bit before answering, "At first… no… even now… I don't know…" He squatted down to the floor scratching his head as he thought. "Obviously, I want you here, otherwise I wouldn't have called your name at the ceremony, but then I realized that I wouldn't want you as my personal maid if that's not what you wanted. I don't want you to feel trapped. I want you to have just as much of a choice as any other maid here. I can always find someone knew."

Hinata felt a little tug in her chest as she heard that last sentence. _'I can always find someone new.'_ That's just another way of saying _'you are replaceable'. _ Hinata broke away from her thoughts as Naruto sighed.

"I would be very happy if you stayed, but I would be even happier if I knew you were happy."

Hinata blushed as she stared, wide-eyed at the prince. He was also covering his blush by his arms that were still in his hair. His fists clenched and unclenched in his blonde locks over and over as he waited for the girls reply. It took a while but finally she spoke.

"I'm happier with you"

His eyes widened as he looked up to the girl who was staring intensely at the ground.

"It's a lot more fun working here"

Naruto paused as he thought about what she said, puzzled he asked, "So it's a lot more fun working here than being with your family?"

Hinata thought about what to say. She knew she'd have to lie to Naruto sometime, so she decided to be honest with him when she could. Now was one of those times to tell the truth.

"I didn't live with my family."

"What? But I told the guards to ask for one daughter of each house?"

"The lady I lived with only had one daughter. She didn't want to give her up so she l-lied and said I was her daughter."

"Why would she do that to someone else's daughter? Wait…you lived with her? I don't understand."

Hinata sighed, relieved that he wasn't angry, "I w-was her maid. I just went from being one person's maid to another. That's w-why working here is more fun. Back there, the lady wanted me gone, but here I have someone who wants me to stay."

Naruto smiled at the shy girl and then paused with another thoughtful look before asking, "So what about your real family?" Hinata instantly froze at this as the blonde continued, "If I could send you back to them would you want…"

"NO!"

The prince froze at the girl who just shouted at him. She blushed a deep red and looked back down at the floor.

"I r-ran away f-from home and I d-don't ever w-want to go back."

"Ok," Naruto replied, rather quietly compared to his usual replies, "I just thought… I mean… I'd do anything to be with my family… but I'm sure you have your reasons."

"I'm s-sorry"

Naruto nodded his head but Hinata could tell he was feeling very awkward and confused right now.

"A-at home" she started off, "It was like being imprisoned. My f-father was very protective. People were always watching my every move. I felt like a prisoner in my own home."

Naruto looked up at the girl and smiled softly, "Yeah, I know what you mean. People are always watching me here too, but how is it that you're okay being trapped here."

Hinata paused for a minute to think of that reason herself, "I guess it's because people aren't always watching every move I m-make. They aren't t-to afraid to talk t-to me either and this castle is m-much better than other c-castles."

Naruto laughed before asking, "And how would you know that? Have you visited other castles in your lifetime?" Hinata froze as the prince continued laughing and mustered out a 'just kidding'.

**In the Elders Residence**

"We are gathered today to discuss an important issue involving one of the princes'. Now please state your business here."

The circle of elders all looked towards the man in the corner of the room who stepped forward and spoke, "I have a concern for the prince I serve. His personal maid selectionis dare I say irrational. The girl is completely incapable for the job she was assigned to."

One of the elders quickly interrupted, "I'm sure my nephew wouldn't choose someone like that. He is very responsible and takes his position as prince very seriously."

Other elder spoke up from the circle, "Unfortunately I was at the wind castle ceremony today and I too saw the girl. She seems very outspoken… and that is from the minute or two I saw of her. However, it's getting late and now is not the time to be talking about this."

Another elder shouted angrily, "Well we obviously can't just overlook something like this! The prince's protection is our responsibility."

Then a fourth elder spoke, "As you all know I was at one of the castles myself and I too received a complaint from a guard concerning his choice."

Again the second elder spoke, "I'm aware of both of those situations, but now is not the time. Tomorrow the princes will be leaving their castles for the Sand Country's peace treaty signing. Once they leave we will have our meeting then. We must send out word to leave the head maids and guards of the castle behind so that we can have a word with them and get everyone's point of view. Then we will make up our final decision."

**There we go! 11th Chapter UP! =) Hope it was okay! The girls will all be meeting in the next two chapters! (However, two might meet up in the next one)**

**Please Review ^.^ Thanks for reading! Until next time!**


	13. Chapter 13

**I know it's been a while, I'm just trying to survive my senior year haha… =) Anyways here's another chapter! Read and enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

**My Prince Charming **

**Chapter 12**

**In the Water Country**

"Can you remind me again why you aren't coming with us?"

"I have some business I must attend to."

Naruto growled in frustration, "What business? Why are you being so secretive all of the sudden? You've always joined our family on the peace treaty signings? What is so important that you must miss this?"

"I'm sure you'll be fine Naruto. You have Hinata and four other guards going with you. I wouldn't have been much help with protection and I'm sure Hinata would be willing to help you with whatever you need." Kagiro replied calmly, ignoring the blonde's previous questions.

"That's not the point!" Naruto growled in irritation as he was pacing his room, "Fine! I'll let you off this once but from now on if you don't have a good reason you are required to come with me when I leave the country."

"I understand" Kagiro bowed and turned to leave the room but muttered before shutting the door, "Hurry up, the carriages should be leaving soon. I will go fetch Hinata and she will meet you down at the gates."

**In the Wind Country**

"I'm not going!"

"You don't have a choice"

"Says who?"

"Says requirement number two of personal maids. You must be by the prince at all times. Being in the next country isn't like being next door."

"It's called keeping a reasonable distance" Tenten replied defiantly

"No a reasonable distance would be five feet away. It should only take a couple seconds to close a reasonable distance, not an entire days' time."

There was silence as Tenten glared at Neji before replying, "Well prince or not you can't make me go."

Neji glared straight back in annoyance at this stubborn girl. They had to leave for Neji was never late and this girl was pushing his last nerve. "Fine then, you can stay here. However, to make sure nothing happens to you while I'm gone, you'll be watched over. It is required that the head guard stay at the castle for this trip so I'll have him watch over you." Neji watched as the girl flinched. He knew what he was doing was cruel but this girl challenged him. She had said he couldn't get her to go so he just had to prove her wrong, and to add salt to the wound he had just made it where she would go _willingly_ with him.

"Now go get in the carriage." He commanded before he walked straight towards the girl and right passed her. '_He was the prince and she had to learn her place' _he justified to himself but still couldn't help feel a tinge of guilt sweep through him at the sight of the single tear she wasn't able to catch as he brushed on by.

**In the Earth Country**

"This is so much better!" Ino replied as she turned around once looking at her new maid outfit.

Shikamaru sighed as he had just reached the carriage, "It figures that you'd like that one more."

"Well yeah, I love purple and blue is the color of my eyes so this definitely suits me better."

"I think you look fine in both." Ino blushed and Shikamaru realized what he had just said causing a pink hue to brush across his cheeks as he just tried to ignore it.

"Get in the carriage. It's time to leave." He stated, trying to change the subject. The blonde quietly nodded and climbed in after him.

**In the Fire Country**

"How long will we be gone exactly?" Sakura replied giving her luggage to a guard to put in the carriage.

"Seven days" Sasuke replied as he did the same, "It will take two days to get there and to get back and we'll be spending three days at the castle."

"Does a peace treaty signing really take three days?"

"Not exactly; at most it will probably take four hours to complete but it is considered rude to just sign and leave. You spend some time there to show the trust you are giving the country. By staying with a person you hardly know, it just shows that you have put faith in them."

Sakura paused while trying to process everything as they climbed in the carriage.

"Huh…That's odd… I guess it makes sense but still strange…"

Sasuke smirked at the girl as the carriage started moving, "It's a tradition for royalty at peace signings; not that you'd really understand." Sakura sent him a quick glare before he continued, "Anyways, if not for the peace signings I would've never gotten to know the other princes."

"Oh!" Sakura replied as she remembered something, "We're not the only ones going to this right. You did mention to me earlier about others coming?"

"Yeah," Sasuke answered, "Three other countries are coming to the signing. The Wind, Water, and Earth countries; we always go to the peace signings together so we can meet up."

"Wait… Meet up? You mean you're like friends?" Sakura chuckled at the thought and Sasuke slightly growled.

"What?"

"Nothing… Just the thought of anyone wanting to be friends with you is amusing."

"Watch it…" Sasuke ground out as the girl chuckled once more before it grew silent.

**And That's a Wrap! Sorry it's incredibly short… It's just I had to graduate… That does come first… And that will be tomorrow… So this chapter is just up to show that I am still here and writing… and after tomorrow I'll hopefully have the time to get ready to post up a better… more exciting chapter…**

**Anyways: Each personal maid has an new colored outfit but yes they do get to keep their old ones too… so that also means the new night outfits are the opposite of the work ones just like before…  
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**Check chapter 3 if you have any extra questions about the outfits**

**The color of the day outfits are:**

**-Ino: Mostly purple with a blue belt and headband and purple gems**

**-Hinata: Mostly white with a sky blue belt & headband and clear gems**

**-Tenten: Mostly dark grey with a dark green belt & headband and dark grey gems**

**-Sakura: Mostly black with a blood red belt & headband and clear gems**

**(Yes I realize Sakura's day outfit hardly changed and so did she… she is very upset and may say so in future chapters) =p**

**Until then… please Read, Review and Enjoy!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey! Here for another Chapter! I'm so grateful to all the reviewers who reviewed on my last chapter even though it was super short. It sure gave me the energy to think up another longer chapter in just a couple days. I hope you enjoy this chapter a bit more. =) Thanks again**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

**My Prince Charming **

**Chapter 13**

**In the Sand Country**

"Sire the first two princes have arrived."

"Two?"

"Yes, the Wind and Earth princes are here. The Water and Fire prince won't be here until tomorrow."

"Very well then, I'll send Matsuri with you to help them get settled in their rooms. Tell them I'll meet with them tomorrow when all the princes have arrived."

"Yes sir"

**In the Water Carriage**

"_When are you going to learn your place? People in your position can't just go walking around alone!"_

"_B-but nothing happened"_

"_That doesn't matter! You're supposed to have someone with you at all times! Do you know of anyone else who can just waltz around freely?"_

"_The g-girls in the village c-can."_

"_You are not a girl in the village! You're status is far above theirs! If you really want to be like them then why not you go join them! Denounce your title… and if not you will stay here, behave properly, and act like the lady you are supposed to be! At least until we get you married off! Then you'll no longer be our problem, you'll be someone else's."_

"_Hinata"_

"_Hinata!"_

Hinata woke up with a gasp to find Naruto next to her slightly shaking her awake. She looked at him with wide eyes before realizing where she was and calmed down a bit.

"Are you okay?" The blonde prince asked, "You were really pale there for a second, and kind of twitchy."

Hinata blushed as the prince chuckled. His chuckle was cut short as he had remembered something.

"Oh! That's right! You're missing your bracelet right?" As soon as he said it her hand went to her wrist and she was about to explain before he stopped her, "Maids are always suppose to have them on but it's okay. I think you have a good enough reason." With that said he reached into his pocket and drew out a single bead with the number 83 on it. "I found it a couple days ago. I've been meaning to give it to you but I forgot."

"H-how did you know it w-was m-mine?"

"Oh that's easy! I still remember the first time I gave it to you. I thought that the number suited you because I've always thought this number made a little smiley face. Do you see it? The eight is the eyes and the three is a cute little smile. The only problem is the eyes don't have pupils but that suits you because you don't have pupils either." Again Naruto laughed and Hinata joined in with a light giggle. Naruto then handed Hinata back the little bead as she reached in her pocket to draw out the rest of the broken bracelet.

"You still have it with you?" Naruto asked in confusion

"Well I f-figured since I couldn't w-wear it I c-could still have it w-with me." Hinata replied. Of course the real reason she still carried around the broken bracelet was because Naruto had given it to her but she wasn't going to tell him that. She quickly added on the last missing bead and tied a firm knot to make sure that it wouldn't come undone before placing it on her wrist. She then looked back at Naruto who was smiling at her. Not his usual goofy grin. Just a normal smile and Hinata couldn't help but smile back.

**In the Sand Country**

"Okay, we're about to arrive at the gates. Due to the shorter distance the Earth prince should be here by now. Make sure that when you see him you are on your best behavior."

It was a command but if you listened carefully enough you could hear the bit of pleading in the Wind prince's voice.

"Yeah yeah… I get it… Make you look good…" Tenten rolled her eyes before looking toward Neji who wore a strange expression. There was his usual glare but behind it you could see a helpless look that seemed to say 'I'm putting all my trust in you, please don't let me down.' Tenten shook off the uncomfortable feeling creeping inside her as she looked at him. She quickly turned away and replied, "Don't worry; I won't do anything rash unless they deserve it."

The carriage was let through the gates and dropped the two off in the front with the guards. There seemed to be another group of people already waiting in the front. Four burly men, a petite blonde girl and a boy around Neji's age. _'This must be the Earth prince'_ was Tenten's first thought as Neji approached the group.

At the sound of footsteps the other group turned around and the brunette boy smirked lazily at them.

"Neji"

"Shikamaru"

"It's been quite some time."

"Indeed"

Tenten watched as the princes greeted each other before looking at the girl in front of her who happened to be staring back. This blonde was beautiful! In fact if people didn't know any better they would have thought the girl was royalty and the boy was the servant with his casual dress. There didn't seem to be a single flaw about this girl, not a scratch, or a mark, or a hair out of place. _'She would've been someone more suited for Neji's maid' _Tenten couldn't help but think before turning away to look somewhere else so that she would not stare too much.

Ino however kept on staring. This girl was way different than what she would expect. I mean this prince was gorgeous! Yet here beside him stood this flawed girl with slightly messed up hair, scratches and scars all up her arms. It was as if she had been playing with knives! After taking a second glance Ino did change her thinking. The girl turned away from her with a bit of a scowl and then she saw it. The prince seemed very polite but she could see that something in their personalities clicked together. Both girls were pulled out of their thoughts as Shikamaru spoke again.

"This is my personal maid, Ino" at the sound of her name she bowed.

Neji gave a nod in acknowledgement before stepping aside and announcing, "This is my personal maid…"

Everyone paused for a moment including Neji before the girl smirked and bowed, making him realize he still had yet to figure out her name. He just left his sentence at that before changing the subject. Once he was successful at that he turned back to the brunette girl and conveyed another message through his penetrating eyes. This message seemed to read, _'I will know by tonight… or else'._

**In the Elders Residence**

"As you are all aware there have been some complaints lately on the prince's sense of judgment." Everyone glanced around at each other as the elder continued to speak, "We have received complaints on two of the new personal maids that the princes have chosen. One girl happens to be a personal threat to the prince. We have already decided to let the prince's make their own decisions unless we feel they could be in danger. So I have gathered you all here today to make a vote on the prince's safety. Each head guard and head maid of each castle will now talk it over with each other and decide if their princes have made wise decisions. If we have a draw then…" the elder paused before continuing, "Well, we'll come to that if we need to. Now please have one step forward when a decision has been reached."

The elders sat at the table as they watched the head maids and guards converse with each other. A few minutes later the first guard stepped forward, "I, the head guard of the Hyuga castle hereby state that Prince Neji's decision is a dangerous one. The girl only disobeys and has even attacked the guards before."

After that the next person stepped forward, "I, Yuka, the head maid of the fire castle have worked at the castle for over 60 years and I believe that the prince's maid choice was sufficient enough to not be bothered by us."

The third person then stepped forward, "I, Yuriko, the head maid of the Nara castle have decided that the prince's decision was poorly made and something needs to be done."

Finally the last person stepped forward, "I, Kagiro, work for the Uzumaki castle. I am here in place of the head maid for I am the one who fills in the position in the Water country castle. I was entrusted by the late king and queen to watch over and protect their boy and have done everything in my power to do so. Both the head guard and I have reached the conclusion that the prince's maid was a very tasteful choice and the girl possesses no threat or harm to the prince." With that said the four who spoke stepped back in line with the other servants.

The elder sat back a moment before replying, "That makes two castles believe to have a threat among them and two believe to be unharmed." He paused a moment before continuing, "Before the council makes the final decision I would like to ask any of you that was perhaps swayed by the others persuasion to step forward. You both hold the same amount of power in the castle so do not fear holding separate opinions."

It took about ten seconds when two people stepped forward and stated their thoughts.

"I, the head guard of the Uchiha castle disagree with the other. I have seen this girl and she also disobeys. I don't know if she could really be considered a threat but I think that there were more acceptable options he could have chosen."

"I, the head guard of the Nara disagree with the other. The girl Shikamaru has chosen seems to be loud at times, but she doesn't seem to pose any threat."

Again the elder paused and sighed before stating, "Well since one has found the maid to be a danger and the other found to be harmless that once again leaves us at a draw. However, the other complaint we have received came from someone not of your status. A guard from the Water castle, for whatever reason sees a threat in the Hinata girl the prince has chosen. Due to that last opinion I can safely say that there has been a complaint for each castle and so you may all leave as the council will now have to think things over."

"Hinata?"

Everyone looked over to the elder who spoke. He looked up in surprise as he realized he had voiced his thought out loud. He shook his head and brushed it off but this didn't go unnoticed by two of the others in the room.

Everyone turned to leave but one as he spoke up, "May I have permission to speak?"

The elders looked around their table and nodded their heads as the others turned at the doors.

"Being the fact that the Water Castles head staff has found the girl harmless, might I make a suggestion as to what could be done." Again the elders looked around before nodding their heads.

**In the Sand Country**

"Here are your rooms' sirs. Will your maids be staying in the maid quadrants or with you?"

"Excuse me?" Shikamaru replied looking at the girl called Matsuri.

"Well yes, when I leave on business with the prince we just stay in one room. He finds it more convenient. I just wanted to make sure you had that option. Some might find it inappropriate but I still had to ask in case. Some princes like to always have their maids by their side at all times. I'm afraid there is only one room available in the maid quadrants today so they'll have to share but there are two beds. There will be another one ready tomorrow but the other maids will also be here with the other princes. So what will it be?" Matsuri glanced innocently at the princes, obviously not fazed by the thought of the maids sharing rooms with the princes.

Shikamaru was the first to speak after looking over at the petrified Ino, "I think my maid will stay in the maid quadrants if that's alright." He watched as Ino let out a sigh of relief and smirked lazily at her as she smiled back.

Next Matsuri turned to Neji who was also smirking at his maid who was glaring intensely at him, "I think my maid would enjoy to spend the night with my…" he paused a bit for effect before continuing, "my friends trusty maid in the quadrants as well." He looked back at Tenten whose eyes were wide in shock. She was grateful he put her thoughts into consideration but she did not see that coming.

"Okay!" Matsuri laughed before turning to the two girls, "Will you two follow me and I will show you to your rooms." She then turned back to the princes and bowed before replying, "The prince shall meet with you tomorrow once the others have all arrived."

**In the Elders Residence**

"You were planning this all along weren't you?"

Kagiro turned around to see Yuka standing behind him. The meeting had just been officially called done and he was walking towards the carriages when the older lady stopped him.

"What are you talking about?" he replied calmly

"You knew what was happening today." It wasn't a question but a statement, "You knew about this. I've been to the Uzumaki castle before. They have a head maid yet you came instead. You chose to come here instead of heading to the Sand Country with the prince, even though you had a choice. You're in charge of the prince's safety yet you chose not to go with him. That's a bit suspicious isn't it?"

Kagiro simply smiled back almost evilly before replying, "I was asked to always protect the prince at all costs. Sometimes that requires me to leave his side for a bit."

"But you're not trying to protect the boy are you? It's her you're trying to protect." She smiled back suspiciously at the man in front of her, "You're not trying to protect the prince this time, but the _princess_. The only question I have is why?"

Kagiro chuckled lightly before answering back, "I have to say that again I am very confused. I have no clue what you're talking about."

"I may be old but I'm not blind. I saw your face at the girl's name and how it changed as soon as Lord Hiashi brushed it off as nothing. It all worked out the way you planned."

Kagiro looked away with a thoughtful look as he answered back, "I did not expect the elder to remember her name, but since it was just forgotten it no longer matters."

"So it is true. You have found her. But why did you help her?"

Kagiro glanced back at Yuka and smiled pleasantly once more, "That is simple. The girl is at our castle for a reason. If she wanted to go home all she needs to do is ask. I'm guessing that since she's now a maid and still not complaining, it gives me a pretty good assumption she's not quite ready to return."

"That's not her choice though is it?"

"Not exactly, but like the prince she is eighteen and old enough to make her own decisions as long as they don't cause harm to others."

"You could get in trouble for this. No matter how many years you have worked at the Water castle, if anyone were to find out about this you could lose your position immediately. Are you sure about this?"

Again Kagiro chuckled as if he were talking to someone who didn't quite understand the situation, "As I have stated before and will state once again, I will protect the prince at whatever the cost." Yuka was about to retort back when he continued, "The girl is something special to Naruto now. In a way, she is now a part of him. I find it that now protecting her is part of my duty too."

Kagiro bowed deeply to the older lady before turning once again and heading for the carriages and she heard as he called out, "If I protect her then I'll have protected him."

**With the Fire Prince**

"Great! Even out of the castle I still have to share a room with you! I thought you'd at least give me one break!" Sakura had been complaining ever since they got their rooms, "There was even five other rooms open! You didn't have to give each guard their own room! You could've had them share one and gave me my own room! I mean I don't know how much you've actually thought about this but I am the girl here and everyone else is boys."

"That's why you didn't get your own room. This place is horrible. The only reason we are staying here is because it's the only place still open and vacant. The floor creaks, the locks don't work and this is some run down town with drunkards all over the place."

Sakura finally crawled on the bed inching closer to the prince who looked up from staring at his feet, since there obviously was nothing more interesting to look at in the bland, disgusting room.

"Well, that's seems more like a reason for you to have another guard in the room with you rather than a maid."

"I'll be fine. These walls are so old and thin that if I get in trouble, all I have to do is call the guards and they can flick the walls down. We might as well have curtains separating us here." Sasuke grouched as he looked at the girl who was eyeing him suspiciously.

"Could it be that _you _are actually caring for _my _well being."

Sakura grinned at him before he just glanced away uncaringly and replied, "Well, I did promise your father didn't I?"

She huffed and turned away stating that she was going to bed as Sasuke smirked and said, "I guess we'll be sharing unless you want to risk it on this floor."

Sakura glanced down at the dirt caked floor before mumbling and climbing under the comforter. Sasuke did the same and was whacked across the head as he tried to snake his arm around the girl.

"What do you think you're doing?" the girl screeched as Sasuke groaned

"It's freezing in this room and it's only going to get colder! Besides that, there's the fact that the beds here are tiny!"

"The beds are fine! Just because it's a queen size bed, it can still hold two people with plenty of extra space! And thanks to your little stunt you better get used to the cold real fast because you've just lost your only blanket privileges!"

With that said the girl quickly yanked the blanket away and wrapped herself into a big cocoon before turning away from the stunned prince who still had yet to get used to her little outbursts.

**With the Water Prince**

"What do you mean there's only two rooms left?" Naruto yelled at the poor clerk who looked frightened at his battle cry.

"I'm sorry your majesty. If you want I can go and kick someone else out. I mean I'm sure they'll be honored to help you out."

Naruto heard a gasp from the quiet girl of their group and he calmed down a bit, "No thank you. I'm sure we can figure some arrangement out with what we have. You shouldn't disturb the other tenants who have already paid. Just give us the keys."

The clerk quickly turned around and snatched up the two rusty keys and handed them to the prince, waiting his next instructions on where to bring which bags.

"Sire, if I may say so, I think it would be wise for you to take one room and the guards to have the room next door."

Naruto glared at this guard, still not having forgiven him for almost chopping his maid in half, "And where do you expect Hinata to sleep?"

"The guard thought about it for a moment before replying, "She can also sleep in our room."

A small 'eep' was heard from behind Naruto as he breathed out trying to control his temper that was somewhat stronger today.

"That won't be necessary. I will share the room with you guys and Hinata can have her own room."

"No!" Hinata gasped. She hated the thought of causing that much trouble to the prince (or anyone for that matter). The guard heard this and spoke up.

"I agree with the girl. That's absurd! You're the prince! You should not have to share a room with four other guards just so one little; frightened maid can have a room all to herself."

"Don't!" Naruto shouted before collecting himself again, "Speak like that about Hinata."

The guard just gave him a stern look before Naruto felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see Hinata there looking up at him through her white eyes.

"I-it's fine. I can s-sleep out here."

"What?" Naruto asked before Hinata walked over to the clerk.

"W-would you mind if I t-took over your couch out here for the n-night?"

The clerk gave her a quick glance up and down, before grinning at her, almost predatorily, "No, it's fine."

Before Naruto could protest, the guard snatched one of the keys and his bags and led the others up to their room. Naruto watched as the man asked her for anything she might need and Hinata replied back. Hinata was completely oblivious to the constant stare she was receiving from the clerk that made Naruto's blood boil. The clerk finally took his gaze off the girl as Naruto approached them and sat down next to the girl, still glaring at the clerk.

"N-Naruto? Aren't you going to your r-room?"

The blonde ignored the girl as he continued to glare at the man in front of them who seemed to find him a lot less intimidating without the guards around. He didn't trust this man and he was making it completely known, not taking his eyes off him for one second… well until he heard the girl speak again.

"N-Naruto?" she asked

He finally looked at her almost apologetically before stating, "Come to my room tonight."

"W-What?" she squeaked

"I can't have you sleeping down here alone. It isn't safe." He replied

"N-no I c-couldn't possibly"

"Then I'm staying down here too" he deadpanned

Hinata squeaked again as if that option was worse, "But you need your rest! You c-couldn't possibly be able to sleep d-down here."

"I couldn't possibly be able to sleep in my room either! Not if I know you're down here!" Hinata blushed at this and Naruto sighed as he scratched the side of his head in frustration.

"I need you to come up to my room. I know this is very uncomfortable for you and you'd much rather not have to do this but if you don't there's no way I'll be able to get any sleep tonight."

Hinata was stunned and neither teens noticed the clerk glaring at the prince in frustration. Naruto looked up at Hinata who busted out of her statuesque state enough to give a simple nod before they grabbed their stuff and headed up to his room.

Again neither of the teens noticed as another was hiding and sending out evil vibes, glaring at the two teens, anticipating what awaited the two of them when they finally arrived back home.

**That's it for this chapter…**

**Thank You again everyone for the positive reviews last time even though it was such a short chapter! I'm extremely grateful!**

**To clear things up that might have been confusing… The guard that doesn't like Hinata isn't the head guard… I did mention once that he was the main guard but I meant that as in the main guard to her because he's the only guard she really knows. So that is why he is with them and not in the meeting but he was the other guard who complained so they did take his complaint into account… =)**

**And Yes Yuka is really old… like 76… She started working at the age of 15 making it 61 years at working for the Uchiha castle…**

**Anyways please R&R! ^-^**


	15. Chapter 15

**Yay! Another Chapter! Sorry for the Shortness… but it's longer than the last short chapter haha… =D**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

**My Prince Charming**

**Chapter 14**

**With the Fire Prince**

Sasuke woke up enveloped in comforting warmth.

'_Wait? Warmth?'_

Sasuke's eyes shot open to find that it was true. Sometime throughout the night he did get the comforter back. He looked to the side to find the bed empty and was just about to sit up when a voice resounded behind him causing him to turn around.

"Don't be so shocked. I woke up in the middle of the night to find you cold as ice. You were asleep and even if you woke up it looked as if you were frozen to the bed so I figured that it wouldn't cause any harm if you had some of the covers back."

Sasuke was about to thank her when he remembered that she was the one that took them away in the first place and decided against it. Instead he just wrapped more covers around himself and sunk further under them.

"It's time to get up the carriages are ready to leave."

Sasuke growled to himself at the guard's voice on the other side of the door before grumbling and getting up out of bed to get ready.

**In the Sand Country**

Ino woke up to find a pair of big chocolate eyes staring at her from only inches away.

"Ah! What the hell do you think you're doing?"

The brunette just smirked at her and stuck out her hand for Ino to shake while replying, "My name's Tenten. It's nice to meet you. I need a little favor from you. Think you can help me out?"

Ino looked skeptically at the hand, then to the girl before asking, "What sort of favor?"

Tenten just smirked in response.

**With the Water Prince**

"Prince, we have arrived."

Naruto stepped out of the carriage, stretching while Hinata followed behind him.

It was still pretty early in the day, since they only slept about four hours at the inn. It had took awhile for Naruto and Hinata to decide on sleeping arrangements, but Naruto refused to let Hinata sleep on the floor and Hinata couldn't possibly make the prince sleep on the floor so they both finally decided to sleep on the bed, staying as far away from the other as they could. However, they did not wake up that way. Ironically the two had woken up at the same time, early in the morning. The moon was shining in their room at an angle where it shone brightly on their faces causing them to open their eyes to find themselves only inches apart. Naruto shouted and Hinata squeaked in surprise as they both jumped out of bed; Hinata being the more graceful of the two, landing on her feet while Naruto tripped and stumbled back, hitting his head on the wall. Due to the ruckus, seconds later the guards were all at the door. Since everyone was awake, Naruto decided to leave then and so they all quickly packed and took off, leaving far more than enough money to pay for their rooms on the counter of the clerk's front desk.

Eventually a maid appeared in front of everyone and introduced herself, "My name is Matsumi. If you are ready, I'll take you to your rooms and then you can presume to the dining hall."

Everyone nodded as they followed the girl into the castle.

**In the Sand Castle**

**(Dining Hall)**

"Shikamaru!"

The lazy prince groaned quietly, causing Neji to glance up at him from what he was currently eating.

"What is it?" He asked a bit bothered. That was until he looked up to see the blonde hobbling towards him rather quickly. In actuality this scene was very funny looking and one would most likely laugh; however, this was no laughing matter and Shikamaru understood that as soon as he saw her feet. He quickly closed the gap between them and lifted the girl up, carrying her back to his seat and placing her down.

"Where are your shoes? This isn't the Earth Kingdom Ino, we're in the middle of the dessert! The stone floors here burn you! I already told you this. You must where shoes at all times during the day."

Not wanting to get involved in the lecture happening to his right, Neji quietly resumed on with his meal as Ino gave Shikamaru a look he had never seen before. This look seemed to portray the message of _'Are you retarded?'_ Shikamaru gave a puzzled look at this new face before Ino burst out, fuming.

"Do you think I'd forget something like that? I couldn't help it! We were required to meet you guys in the dining hall during breakfast but my shoes were lying next to my bed and then Tenten asked me for a favor and took off with them!"

"You could have just waited in the room. I would've come and fetched you if you didn't show." Shikamaru replied sympathetically before stopping a maid passing by and asking her to go fetch some ice for Ino's now blistering feet, "And who is Tenten?"

Ino gave another exasperated look before almost screaming at him, "You should be telling me! You call that guy a good friend of yours but you don't even remember his personal maids name?" Neji's eyes slightly widened as his selective hearing turned back on and the blonde continued her rambling, "And look at him! Acting like he has nothing to do with this! Hey! Are you just going to sit there or do something?"

"Ino!" Shikamaru snapped for the girls disrespect towards his friend who finally looked back at them.

"Tenten you say?"

"Please don't tell me you forgot her name too? What kind of prince are you?"

"Ino!" Shikamaru snapped again as Neji stood up and handed his tray to another maid walking by. He looked down at the blonde sitting down and then to her feet that must have been adding to her rage all thanks to his lovely maid.

"I'm sorry," he replied curtly, "I will resolve this matter at once." Neji slightly nodded his head before turning away, nearly bumping into the maid who went to retrieve some ice. He had told (well glared at) Tenten to tell her his name the night before. Lucky for her, he had forgotten but this was how she planned to tell him! Embarrassing him in front of others! He knew her plans. Take something of the blondes that she desperately needed but not something too private so she could go complain to her prince who no doubt would've been by him and telling the blonde her name, making him turn out to be the rude prince who didn't even remember the name of the girl he was supposed to be spending everyday with! He would not tolerate himself being made into such a mockery. If that's how she wanted to play, so be it. If she wanted to embarrass him, well then two could play at that game.

Meanwhile back with the other two, Shikamaru was treating Ino's wounds.

"Why didn't you just stay in the room?"

"I didn't want to lose?"

Shikamaru looked up at the blonde quizzically, "Lose what"

"To her" Ino replied wincing at the ice pressing against her feet, "Or to anyone… I'm not really cutout for this personal maid thing and everyone at the Earth Castle knows that by now. I just wanted it to seem like I was cutout for it here. Since no one knows me, I thought I could impress the others… Make you look like you made the right choice and that no one could've been better."

Shikamaru looked up at Ino who was still staring at her aching feet. He sighed and smirked before stating, "I still don't know if I made the right choice, but I don't regret it yet and that says something." Ino chuckled slightly as he continued, "And I'm not sure if you're as good as the maids here, but that other girl introduced herself and then ran off with your shoes for no apparent reason, so I think you've beaten her in the maid compartment at least."

Hinata had been walking around aimlessly for about ten minutes by now. As soon as Matsuri showed them the dining hall (where they were all supposed to meet after they had dropped off their packs and settled in a bit) she took them all to their rooms. Again Matsuri asked about the sleeping arrangements before Naruto quickly stated that Hinata would like to have her own room. Hinata was the last one to be shown to her room and Matsuri stated how she might have to share it with another maid from a different country. Matsuri showed her the room before leaving and now that Hinata was finished packing she started heading back towards the dinning hall. However, she had taken so many turns that she was now completely lost. Of course she had ended up in a completely deserted part of the castle where there was no one around to ask for directions. Or at least that was what she thought before she rounded a corner and crashed into someone running her way. Both girls fell back, landing on their rear ends and catching themselves with their hands causing them to immediately shoot back up from the scorching floor.

"Hey, sorry about that. I was kind of in a hurry." The girl opposite Hinata chuckled while dusting off some sand onto the floor.

"It-it's fine" Hinata replied while looking up at the chocolate haired girl who was still dusting herself off with one slightly scorched hand while the other held a pair of shoes. The girl finally looked back up at Hinata and her eyes widened before turning quizzical.

"I thought only the males were aloud to leave the castle in the Hyuga family?" Hinata's eyes widened immeasurably at this as the girl continued, "Wait a minute? I know for a fact Neji was the only royal going on this trip? What are you doing here?"

"Tenten!"

At the sound of Neji's voice Hinata froze and Tenten turned back towards the hall which the voice was coming from. As soon as he turned the corner Tenten turned back to the girl for a double take before realizing she was already gone.

"That's how you tell me you're name! By letting someone else from a different country do it! What were you…" Neji paused as he realized the girl wasn't even listening, "Tenten?'

The girl snapped out of her little reverie and turned back at the prince with confusion still strewn across her face.

"Is something wrong?"

She slowly shook her head before replying, "I just thought I saw… Nevermind…"

Neji looked at her a few more seconds before realizing the shoes she held in one hand and all the trouble she caused. He quickly snatched the shoes from his grasp while muttering out a quick 'reckless'.

"They don't make you wear shoes just for looks you know? It's obvious they aren't worried about getting their floors dirty."

"Huh?" Tenten looked back up at the prince who was admiring the sand covered floors.

"The floors are scorching hot."

Tenten chuckled before remembering about her hand, "Yeah I noticed that now" She laughed before raising her red hand to look at it.

Neji looked down at it too before quickly grabbing it and looking at her fiercely, "What happened?" It wasn't a question but more of a command.

"I just… tripped…" she stated, not quite sure of what to say. She was sure Hyuga's were not allowed to leave the castle unless under surveillance and even then the girls were not allowed to leave at all unless they were the queen herself which there wasn't one at the moment. However, she could've sworn that girl had the same eyes as Neji. She wanted to bring it up to him but the girl ran off as soon as she heard Neji's voice making it quite known that the girl wasn't suppose to be there. Tenten thought for a few more seconds about it before coming to the conclusion that she would find the girl later and get answers from her before causing any unnecessary trouble.

Neji was in a world of his own confusion at this moment too. Tenten tripped? That wasn't like her at all. She was graceful and strong, precise and never clumsy. Not only was that strange but Tenten seemed to be dazing off down the hall as if she saw something impossible right now that she couldn't wrap her brain around. She was so out of it that Neji could bet Tenten forgot about her burnt hand again which had started to form tiny blisters. Not nearly as many or as big as the ones on the blondes feet but they still must hurt.

"Neji!"

Neji turned around as his name was called and saw Shikamaru walking towards them.

"You were taking a while so I thought I'd come help you out. Ino's hurting pretty bad right now but she won't admit it. I don't know exactly what I'm going to do with her. I can't have her simply following me around all day in her condition but I can't see her very much enjoying being alone much."

Neji just stayed silent in thought as Shikamaru walked up and grabbed the shoes from him before turning back towards the dining hall. He took a few steps before turning back around and stating, "Oh yeah. I heard that Naruto has arrived; he should be in the dining hall right now. Sasuke should be arriving soon too."

Again Shikamaru turned away and started walking back down the hall when Neji called out to him, "Perhaps Tenten can take care of Ino today. We all should catch up and Tenten should apologize since it is her fault Ino's in that condition. Maybe Naruto's maid could join them and possibly Sasuke's too when they get here."

"I don't know if Ino will totally go for that since she's a little mad, but perhaps with Naruto's maid there too to watch over them that'll be okay I guess."

Shikamaru started walking away again for the third time and Neji followed before remembering his maid was still behind him. He turned back to the girl who was still in a daze before he went and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

Tenten slightly smirked back at him before replying, "Of course, I'm just imagining things."

"It looks like you'll be hanging out with the other personal maids today, but don't think you'll be getting off the hook that easy." Neji stated before calmly walking away.

"Yeah yeah" Tenten answered before following.

"And Tenten?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't forget to apologize. You're making me look bad."

"I know"

**That's it for this chapter! =) I know it's not long like my other ones but I really wanted to post something up. **

**And someone stated how they wanted more Sakura/Sasuke. I just want to say I hear ya on that… haha… I actually find it quite weird since they are my favorite couple. I never would've thought I'd get to a point where they would be the hardest couple to write about, but as I have stated before… I just make up this story as I type… So sometimes I have the ideas for certain characters and not for others but no worries me amigos! I have a great plan for there futures. I can't guarantee Sakura Sasuke will be the main couple in every chapter because for this story I want everyone to shine but I can guarantee that in future chapters I do have something planned for Sasuke Sakura. Something I hope everyone will enjoy.**

**Anyways please Read and Review! I LOVE the reviews! They always give you that extra motivation! **=)


	16. Chapter 16

**Here it is! The Chapter you've all been waiting for… All the girls finally meet!**

**I just wanted to say that it is a real joy being able to write and knowing that there are people out there enjoying my work so thank you for the many reviews! I'm almost at 100! …well getting there haha… =) anyways please enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

**My Prince Charming**

**Chapter 15**

**In the Sand Country**

Neji and Shikamaru had just reentered the cafeteria when they heard their names called. They both looked over to the blonde prince making his way around the tables from where he was sitting. The other two just kept heading towards the injured blonde down on the other end of the room. In a matter of seconds Naruto had caught up to them and was smiling brightly.

"What's up?"

Neji just simply ignored this and Shikamaru replied with a simple "Hey Naruto" being that he was preoccupied thinking of his personal maid's condition. Realizing that the other two males were not going to answer his last question Naruto tried again.

"So I heard Sasuke will be arriving soon. We'll have to go meet the Sand Prince to get this treaty signing over with but do you guys know what you're doing after that?"

Neji just slightly shrugged and Shikamaru replied with a simple no. Naruto glared at the two leaving him to have a one sided conversation before he noticed Tenten. He slowed down a bit so he was now walking next to her. Neji eyed him as Naruto grinned one of his normal grins at the girl who looked at him skeptically in return.

"Hey, is this one of your personal maids?"

Shikamaru turned to Naruto only for a second before he continued walking as he tilted his head towards the white-eyed prince.

"That's Neji's"

Neji only nodded in response as Naruto's grin grew and he stuck out his hand.

"Hi, I'm Naruto! What's you're name?"

Tenten smiled back and took his hand while stating, "Tenten'

Neji glowered at this. All Naruto had to do was ask and she told him right away! He had to wait days! Even then he found out her name through someone else!

"So where's you're maid Shikamaru?" Naruto asked just in time as they stopped.

"Here"

Naruto looked in front of Shikamaru and saw a blonde girl wincing in pain as another girl pressed ice gently to her blistered feet.

"Woh! Gross feet! What happened to her?"

Ino immediately looked up with a terrifying glare and then towards Shikamaru. He could tell just by looking at her that the glare wasn't coming from her anger but her pain and embarrassment. With how much time they spent together Shikamaru had already figured out that Ino was very into appearances. She always looked perfect, no matter what day it was or what mood she was in. There was never a hair out of place or a wrinkle in her uniform. This was probably the first time anyone had ever said the word gross and directed it towards her before and Shikamaru could tell it was eating her up inside.

"Actually, I have to take the blame for that one." Tenten said, stepping forward, "I meant to play a harmless joke, but unlike the Earth Prince, Neji doesn't speak and forgot to mention that the floors were hot."

"You never listen anyway" Neji replied as Naruto starred at him. His maid got him to speak before Naruto could!

"Anyways," Tenten continued, "I ended up finding out the hard way." She raised her blistered hand and Shikamaru's eyes widened at her palm then at Neji. Neji gave him a questioning look back before he realized what Shikamaru was thinking.

"I didn't do that!"

Tenten looked between the two and burst out laughing once she realized that Shikamaru had thought Neji had taught her a lesson by showing what it felt like to burn skin on the floor you walk on. "No, he didn't do this. I fell when I ran into…" Tenten froze when she realized her mistake but quickly finished, "a wall when I took a corner to fast."

"You ran into a wall?" Naruto repeated to make sure he heard correctly as Neji looked at Tenten skeptically.

"You told me you tripped."

"It's the same thing"

"No… When you trip you fall forwards. When you hit a wall you fall back."

"Does it really matter which way I fell?" Tenten asked exasperated as Neji glared at her.

"It's not the same thing" Neji stated again before Tenten sighed.

"A trip can also be called a stumble and I stumbled back from the wall. I just worded it wrong." With that said, the two had finished the conversation. Neji still didn't think everything fell into place but he could tell by Tenten's face that she was finished with this discussion. It became silent between the group of teens and amazingly the one to break the silence was Shikamaru as he turned towards Naruto.

"Anyways, my maid is in no condition to be walking around right now so Neji and I have decided to let the personal maids hang out together today."

"What?" Ino hissed, obviously not to pleased with the idea of having to spend the rest of the day with Tenten. Shikamaru turned slightly towards her so he was facing both blondes before continuing.

"I figured she wouldn't be to pleased with this situation due to the misunderstanding earlier so we were thinking that maybe you could let your maid hang out with them and possibly Sasuke can too when he arrives."

Naruto grinned back before replying, "Sure! The only problem is I don't know where she is right now."

He laughed sheepishly and Shikamaru asked, "What does that mean?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head and laughed nervously, "Well, after unpacking we were all supposed to meet down here but she hasn't arrived. I was actually thinking about going to look for her."

"Well I'm sure we can help then." Shikamaru replied, "Just tell us what she looks like."

"Well, she has blackish hair that almost looks blue and her face…" he paused a moment as something caught his attention as he stared at Neji, "Looks like yours."

"What?" Neji growled, taking that as if Naruto was trying to insult him by saying he looked like a girl.

The blonde just laughed before stating, "I know. That's ridiculous. She's the exact opposite of you actually. I mean she's still quiet, but it's because she's shy, not rude." Tenten chuckled at this as the blonde continued on, "She's a lot prettier too but that's not what reminds me of you both. It's your eyes… They're similar, if not the same."

Neji's eyes widened at this, as did Tentens.

'_It couldn't be could it?'_ Tenten thought to herself,_ 'But there's no way it could be anyone else.'_

Everyone's thoughts were interrupted as someone entered the room and announced that the Fire Prince had arrived.

Tenten took this opportunity to distract Neji as she walked over to the blonde girl, squatted down in front of her and lifted the girl up onto her back.

"What do you think you're doing?" the blonde questioned loudly enough to catch all the surrounding teen's attentions.

"Well you can't walk can you?" Tenten replied simply while hoisting the girl up higher on her back and making sure that her arms were secured under both the girl's knees.

"But your hand is burnt too"

"It's fine, I can't feel it really."

Of course that was a lie but Tenten had to get out of there if she wanted to figure out what that other Hyuga was up to. "Anyways, the Fire Prince is here now so you boys should probably go to that signing and make sure to send his maid down to our rooms. She'll be sharing with us since we have the only two available rooms open. I'm sure we can find Naruto's maid on our own."

"Are you sure?" Naruto asked as Neji looked at her almost impatiently.

"We can help" Neji stated bluntly before Tenten shook her head at him and smirked.

"I think we'll be fine. Besides, all Princes' are to report to the Sand Prince now that you are all here. Your duty as a Prince should always come first." She replied matter of factly, knowing that she hit the spot. Neji was a stickler when it came to his position and the responsibilities that pertained to it.

Tenten then turned and was about to start walking off before she heard Neji ask.

"What's her name Naruto?"

Tenten turned back around before the blonde spoke and retorted, "Neji, she looks like you! I think that's pretty explanatory. I think it'll be pretty easy to find her if that's true. I don't need to know her name." Of course Tenten knew that Neji was not asking for the girl's name for her sake but she could tell from the way Neji was acting that something was very off.

Naruto just chuckled lightly before replying, "Yeah, that's true. If you see her, you won't miss her."

The conversation ended there and Tenten turned again and started walking off.

"Hey" the blonde girl called from her back.

"Yeah?" Tenten questioned.

"Just so you know, I want to switch rooms. I'll stay in the other room and you can stay in that room."

"Nah that's okay," Tenten replied back, "I was actually thinking I'd switch rooms. I'll just move my things and the Fire Prince's maid can move into your room." With that said, both girls continued on in silence as Tenten thought of her new roommate and all the questions she had for her.

* * *

><p>"Hello, my name is Matsuri. I'm the Sand Prince's personal maid and I'll be showing you all to your rooms if you wouldn't mind following me."<p>

Sasuke didn't have to wait more than a minute before the door opened to reveal the polite girl who immediately asked them to follow her. He looked over to Sakura who just shrugged and followed him. As soon as they turned down the first hall, an annoying, ecstatic voice rang out.

"Teme!"

Sasuke looked up to see three teen boys walking towards him. Well two were walking and one was running super speed toward him. The blonde was running so fast that it almost seemed he would not be able to stop, so Sasuke did. Naruto stopped just in time, skidding a bit on the floor and stopping just inches from the stoic man standing in front of him. Naruto and Sasuke glared at each other before Naruto grinned widely and stepped to the side, giving Sasuke a slap on the back causing the black haired prince to be pushed forward slightly.

"You're finally here!" He shouted stating the obvious as Sasuke just grunted in response.

"Is this your maid?" Naruto asked, finally acknowledging the unique female in the room, "Her hair's pink?" Sasuke just rolled his eyes as Sakura nodded at the blonde as he continued, "I thought my maid was unique but this is really something. Is it natural? All of our maids are down in the maid quadrants. We're making them stick together today because Shikamaru's maid is hurt and can't move around much. You should send your maid down there too. That way we can go see the Sand Prince for the treaty signing and maybe our maids can become friends."

As Naruto kept on rambling, Sasuke only heard about half the things he said.

* * *

><p>Hinata amazingly was still walking down the halls aimlessly. She knew the cafeteria was in the direction of where she was headed before, but didn't want to chance going to the cafeteria in case she ran into the Wind Prince. Instead she decided to head back to the maid quadrants only to realize she didn't quite know where that was either. She winced and looked down at her scorched hands to find tiny blisters on both. She bet the other girl was having a lovely time with her scorched hands too.<p>

Just thinking of that, brought up the memory of earlier and the brunette girl. She had figured out so easily. Of course not many wouldn't. Especially seeing them both in such a short period of time. It was only a matter of time before Naruto realized this too. Hinata was immediately ripped away from her thoughts as a voice rang through the halls.

"Hey you!"

Hinata turned around to find the girl from earlier carrying someone on her back. Instantly, she turned away and started walking when the girl called out to her again.

"Wait a minute! Help me out!"

Hinata paused at this and turned back around. She never was the type of girl to walk away when someone needed help, but it all could've been a ploy. Hinata took one hesitant step backwards and accidently closed both her fists causing her to slightly hiss in pain. Again she looked down at her hands and remembered that this girl had also scorched herself, yet was still carrying someone else. She skeptically walked forward as the brunette's face broke into a grin.

"I thought you might just have kept walking for a second"

'_So did I'_ Hinata thought back to herself

"Anyways," the girl continued, "I was just heading back to the maid quadrants. Naruto told me if we saw you that you were to hang out with us today." Again, Hinata eyed the girl skeptically before answering her unasked question of why, "You see, I played a harmless joke and it didn't turn out to good."

"Harmless!" the girl on her back seethed at her, finally speaking, "Does this look harmless to you?"

Hinata looked down and finally realized the girl's feet as her eyes widened, "W-what happened?"

"This girl's harmless joke apparently." The other girl growled and the brunette chuckled nervously.

"Well anyways, because of this slip up she can't walk to well."

"Or at all" Ino piped in, not to pleased.

"And since she can't walk I'm supposed to stay with her, but she's not to pleased with that idea either, so Naruto said you could spend the day with us."

"O-okay"

"Great" Tenten replied as the blonde on her back smiled down at Hinata. "Only, problem is I got a little lost on the way back."

"M-me too"

"Great, we're all lost"

Tenten ignored the complaining blonde and smiled back at Hinata, "Well, that's okay. We'll find it together."

* * *

><p>"So will your maid be staying with you or will she be down in the maid quadrants?"<p>

Naruto laughed at this question and almost answered for Sasuke when he answered himself, "She'll be staying with me tonight but please show her down to the maid quadrants. She'll be spending the day down there."

All the prince's eyes were wide at this. Sasuke was letting his maid spend the night in his room? Even Neji's eyes widened at this. Sasuke looked over at the others and simply replied, "She got into some trouble back at the Fire Castle. It's safer if she stays with me."

The three princes stared at Sasuke a minute more before turning their glances to the pink haired maid who blushed lightly, embarrassed at what the others might be thinking. However, Sasuke went unfazed. Matsuri just smiled back at them, finally relieved that someone seemed to have the same thinking as her and her prince.

"Okay then I'll show the maid to the maid quadrants now. Please follow me." She replied sweetly, looking at Sakura. Sakura just nodded and followed the maid out the door. Once the girls were out of site the princes all turned back to Sasuke who had a glare on his face, as if he didn't want the girl to leave even though he gave them permission. As if he was almost worried. Even Naruto sensed this and put his hand on Sasuke's shoulder to calm him down.

"It's alright Teme. It's not like she's going to get hurt with the other maids. They don't have any reason to harm her."

Shikamaru slightly scoffed and glared lightly over at Neji, "That didn't stop Tenten."

Sasuke's eyes immediately widened at this, "Who's Tenten?"

Naruto just chuckled slightly replying, "It's no one"

* * *

><p>"Finally, we've arrived!" Tenten shouted out loud as they busted into one of the rooms. Tenten quickly went and placed Ino down gently on her bed and then grabbed the little stuff she brought and quickly moved it into the next room. She then came back into Ino's room where Hinata stood awkwardly, not knowing what to say. That didn't really matter though since Tenten seemed to have plenty on her mind.<p>

"So what are you doing here?" Ino glanced at Tenten confused at her question referenced to the shy, white eyed girl who she herself invited to join them. She was going to say something about it when Tenten continued, "The Queen of Wind is dead. Has been dead for years and she's the only female allowed to leave the castle at all I heard. So what are you doing here?"

Hinata didn't know what to say. Instead she turned around to leave the room when the brunette grabbed her wrist to prevent her from leaving.

"I know you're a Hyuga" she replied simply.

Ino glanced up at Hinata again and it finally dawned on her. The girl and the Wind Prince had the same weird eyes.

"No one has eyes like yours unless they're a Hyuga. All Hyugas' live in the Hyuga castle or outside the castle but in the compound walls. Even if they are distant relatives, if they have those eyes, they are required to live there, unless married. I'm sure of it."

Again Hinata had nothing to say. Of course she knew that this girl had already found out, but she wasn't ready to explain anything yet. The next thing the brunette said, however, busted Hinata out of her thoughts.

"I can't help you if you won't tell me anything."

"H-help?"

Tenten only smirked at the shocked girl, "That's right. Just because I'm Neji's maid, we don't exactly see eye to eye. I understand that I'm supposed to do as he says, but nowhere did I hear that I have to tell him everything I know. Everyone's allowed to have secrets, even us maids, so tell me what happened. Even though I can't guarantee I can help, I can at least try."

"W-why?" Hinata asked completely confused. This girl was supposed to be on Neji's side. The girl in question just smiled a friendly smile before answering.

"People run away for two reasons. One; they have somewhere else they'd rather be or Two; they'd rather be anywhere but there. Seeing that you're now working as a maid, I'm guessing that you don't fall under the ones that had somewhere else they'd rather be. So now I'm curious as to what it is you wanted to run away from."

Hinata just looked down at the ground solemnly. She hadn't ever had to tell her story before. It had been two years and she had never been found out. She had been so far away from home that she was sure it'd stay that way and she could forget her past as though it was never there. Yet here she stood with two girls who had found out her identity. Two girls she had never met before, and one was asking her to reach back into the days she tried to forget. She didn't even know where to start. That didn't matter right now as a knock came from the door and it opened revealing the last maid and the maid that had showed them all down here.

In a flash, Matsuri was gone and a pink haired girl stood in front of three stunned other girls.

"Sorry, the other room was empty and I was told to come here."

"Yeah, we were expecting you" Ino called out smiling, "You must be the Fire Prince's maid." Sakura just nodded in reply.

"Where's your stuff?" Tenten called out next.

"Oh, it's up in Sasu… the Prince's room." Sakura replied as a light blush spread across her face.

"No way!" Tenten stated, "He makes you sleep with him?"

"Only in the same room." Sakura quickly corrected, "Some maid's at the Fire Castle got the wrong impression of us and overreacted. Ever since then, he's pretty much decided I need to be near him at all times. Quite annoying actually."

Sakura chuckled and Tenten laughed, "I've had to spend the night in my prince's room before due to bad behavior."

Sakura quite easily grew comfortable talking to these girls as she replied back, "That's actually how it started out with me too, and that's what gave the other maids the wrong impression."

Sakura then glanced at the three girls, first the blonde on the bed with blue eyes and long hair in a ponytail. Then to the one who was conversing with her; chocolate eyes and hair tied in two buns. Lastly, she glanced at the quite one that had yet to speak, with blackish blue hair and white eyes.

"So, you must be the Wind Princes maid?"

"Actually that would be me."

Sakura looked back at the brunette who spoke.

"Oh, sorry, I just assumed since she had the same eyes."

"Don't worry about it. She was just about to tell us the story about that so it's good you came now. Now she doesn't have to start over."

Sakura went and sat down next to the blonde and then all eyes turned to Hinata.

"I d-don't even know w-where to start?"

"How about a name?" Tenten suggested as she leaned against the wall, sitting on the same bed as Hinata who took a silent, deep breath before starting the story she was determined to never bring up again.

"M-my names Hinata…" she hesitated once more, just to make sure she was really going to do this before continuing, "Hyuga. I'm the daughter of Hiashi and…"

"Wait? Hiashi? Isn't that the…" Tenten almost scolded herself for interrupting but she couldn't help it.

"Yes, I am the eldest daughter of the King"

**So there you go! The girls have finally met! I don't really feel I like this chapter as much but I'll have fun with the next one for sure. =P**

**Thanks for all the reviews… and I'll try to post up the next chapter soon… =)**

**Questions and reviews always welcome!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Another Chapter Down! (I wonder how many chapters this whole story will end up being… haha) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

* * *

><p><strong>My Prince Charming<strong>

**Chapter 16**

* * *

><p>"Wow! And here I thought Sasuke was always in a bad mood!" Naruto grouched as they exited the meeting room.<p>

Things went smoothly with the treaty signing and everything was all set. Prince Gaara had even invited them down to dinner to eat with him. He was very polite but seemed to always be in a bad mood at the same time. He was someone who could pull off both personalities at once, which was rare indeed and it _really _bothered Naruto who already had _two_ friends that seemed to have similar gifts and another friend who would probably have the same gift if he wasn't too lazy to try.

"Why can't I ever meet normal people?" The blonde cried out to whoever was listening.

"We're Prince's dobe" Sasuke stated

"What exactly is normal to you?" Shikamaru asked

"Well you know!" Naruto exclaimed, "Nice, friendly people! Ones that will talk," he looked over to Sasuke, "Ones that will go out and actually do something," he glanced over to Shikamaru, "And ones that will… well talk!" Naruto repeated glancing back at the last Prince who just raised his brow back at him questioningly.

"Not everyone has to ability to talk excessively like you." Sasuke replied

"Ino does" Shikamaru muttered to himself.

"I don't need them to talk a lot! Just talk some! And it'd be nice if they smiled more than they frowned! Like your maids! They all seem normal!"

At this the other three princes coughed/choked at the thought of their complaining, bossy, ill-mannered companions being the definition of what Naruto considered to be normal.

Naruto caught onto this and quickly replied, "Well my maid is normal. She may be shy, but she's kind, and brave and loyal."

This caught Neji's attention as he spoke up, "We should probably go see how they are doing."

"That's right!" Naruto shouted, "I've got to make sure they found Hinata!"

With that the princes took off towards the maid quadrants; Neji seeming a little more eager than usual as he kept up with Naruto's fast pace.

* * *

><p>"So let me get this straight. You ran away from home because you'd have to get married to some handsome prince?"<p>

"No, she wasn't engaged yet."

"And not every prince out there is handsome Blondie."

"It's Ino" stated the blonde to the pinkette.

"I-it wasn't that… I j-just didn't want to be trapped anymore. I left then because I knew once he f-found a suitor the security would heighten to k-keep me safe until the marriage. I d-didn't want to marry someone I d-didn't know. I d-didn't want to marry at all and I knew o-once I w-was married there would b-be no chance of ever f-feeling free. The thought of b-being trapped and t-tied to someone you had no f-feelings for… I c-couldn't bear it… So I l-left…"

"So why does your dad get to pick who you marry? Don't you have any say in the matter at all?" Ino asked the pensive girl.

"S-since he's k-king, he knows every detail about all the s-suitors and he w-will chose who b-benefits the Kingdom most. Marriage is j-just a way to solidify the b-bonds b-between the c-countries."

Everyone sat quietly a moment, all lost in their own thoughts before Tenten broke the silence.

"Well, who cares? You left, because you wanted freedom. I'm not one to complain about that, so I'll help you out. I mean all we need to do is keep you away from Neji right? It won't be easy but it's doable." The other two girls nodded in agreement and Hinata smiled back at all of them.

Apparently, they had spoken to soon as the door then burst open.

"Hinata! The other guys want to meet you!"

Hinata turned around wide-eyed to face the hyperactive prince.

"N-Naruto?"

Naruto opened his mouth to speak, but was then pushed aside by Neji who stepped through the door with a stern look. His eyes immediately landed on the girl who was staring at him in a frozen state.

An awkward silence filled the room as the last two princes walked in.

"Where have you been?" Neji seethed as Naruto looked at him with a puzzled expression, "It's been two years! And now you show up in the Sand castle as the maid of a prince from another country!" Neji was actually yelling, completely furious at this girl and Naruto was beyond confused. Naruto went and placed a hand on Neji's shoulder to get him to calm down but he just jerked out of the lousy grasp and marched straight up towards Hinata who scooted back a bit on the bed. "You disgraced us! Had anyone found out that the King's own daughter ran away our name would have been ruined!"

"W-what?" Naruto managed to quietly mutter out to himself as the other two princes' suddenly grew very interested.

"And the King! He was miserable for months! He thinks you're dead! You caused him so much anguish as he worried for you and here you are! Safely in the care of another castle!"

"Neji" Tenten called calmly, stepping in between the two only to get shoved roughly to the side. She landed on the floor and looked back up in shock. Neji took no notice as he leaned forward toward the cowering girl who was also looking in shock at the girl on the ground. Neji had never once gotten rough with a girl. He was always very well behaved. Hinata then looked back towards her cousin when he exhaled a deep breath that stretched across the side of her neck.

"And here you are… The princess of Wind… Reduced to nothing more than a mere maid… Cleaning floors, taking out the trash… Is this the life you ran away for?" The two Hyugas stared at each other for only a moment before Neji spoke lowly so that only Hinata (and Tenten) could hear, "You were of the highest status and now you are worth no more than the dirt you walk on."

"Is that what a maid is to you?"

Neji finally acknowledged his own maid on the floor glaring up at him. She stood up slowly, ignoring her aching arms that now had burns up to the elbows from catching herself. The two other maids on the other bed however had a clear view of the back of her arms and their eyes widened.

"You think we're all just lower than dirt?"

Neji paused for a moment and stared at the wall beside him before replying, "Compared to a prince's level it's…" he couldn't finish the sentence without it coming out wrong. He had meant that going from a royal to a maid was very demeaning, but he had never given it a second thought when it was just normal people like Tenten.

"The Hyuga name will remain unharmed."

Neji looked back at Hinata who had spoken. Everyone else had also glanced her way as she continued.

"If father thinks I'm dead, keep it that way. I ran away, meaning that I have given up the Hyuga name." Naruto's eyes widened at this. Hinata wasn't even stuttering. She was calm and quickly stood up, facing Neji who had to take a few steps back to give her room as they seemed to be the only two people in the room. She looked poised and almost confident and not like the Hinata Naruto knew at all. It was like she was someone completely different. Her attitude, her look, it all fit into one description. _'Royalty'_

"I have disowned my name, so now the Hyuga's name will no longer be tarnished. He has suffered for me, but he led me away. He gave me the option to leave."

"He never would've thought you'd have taken it!" Neji retorted, his anger coming back, "Do you really think he cares for the name? He'd want you to come back!" There was a pause for a moment before Neji stated, "And you will"

He turned around to leave and called out, "Tenten, make sure you're stuff is ready for tomorrow. We'll be leaving. I'll announce this to the Sand Prince as an emergency during the dinner tonight."

Neji walked out the door without another word and Hinata stood her ground with a defiant look. That was until the blue-eyed prince stepped into her line of vision. Immediately all courage that was in her was swept away, along with any sign of a royal. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't tear her gaze away from the prince who was staring at her with a look of confusion and betrayal.

"Is that true?" was all he managed to say as the girl finally was able to break her gaze and drop it to the floor, "You're a Hyuga? That's why you didn't tell me your name." The last thing he said more to himself. It was a statement and not a question. Naruto met Hinata's gaze one last time before he turned around to walk away.

"N-Naruto!"

The prince paused a moment but then was out the door the next. Of course Hinata was wishing that he'd turn around and tell her she didn't have to go with Neji, but she was not the least surprised that he didn't. He had told her his personal stories about his family, but she refused to tell him hers. He put complete trust in her and she couldn't even put close to that amount of trust in him. So she wasn't surprised when the prince had left without saying a word. However; it did shock her that he didn't even listen when she called out his name. Usually in this type of situation, Naruto would try to listen to what both sides had to say, but now it was obvious that he didn't want to hear it. Hinata collapsed back onto the bed and the other two princes silently left the room. Tenten sat down next to the shy Hyuga who was currently burying her head between her knees that were pulled tightly to her chest. No one knew what to say so Tenten just rested her blistering arm down on Hinata's shoulder. After about ten minutes of silence, Sakura finally broke it.

"Are you alright Hinata?"

Her question went unanswered, but in the next couple of minutes Hinata raised her head with a determined look on her face.

"I've got to leave" was all she said, and everyone in that room understood exactly what she meant.

* * *

><p>All the boys had made it back to their rooms and they were all crowded in Neji's at the moment. Naruto of course followed him there, for he had questions but was still too shocked to voice them. The other two followed them and took a seat in awkward silence. After a while, Shikamaru was the first to speak.<p>

"Who would've thought Naruto would have had a run-away princess for his maid huh?"

No one said anything to that so Shikamaru changed the subject.

"You know Neji. I think that's the first time I seen you lose your temper." Neji just glanced up at Shikamaru with a glare as Shikamaru just stared back with a dull expression, "Tenten was it? She was on the floor for quite a while. You didn't even notice did you? I couldn't see from where I was standing but I bet her arms don't look much better than Ino's feet right now." Shikamaru could see the look of contemplation on Neji's face now as his anger was finally dissipating. "She didn't even wince you know. She's strong, but just because she has a high pain tolerance, doesn't mean her body doesn't suffer the damages. Someone needs to tend to that and by seeing how none of them had on any bandages; I'm guessing no one will."

"Shut up Shikamaru!" Neji snapped.

It wasn't in anger, but in annoyance. His mind was spinning a mile a minute trying to figure out his clouding thoughts. He wasn't as smart as the Earth Prince but he had always been somewhat of a genius himself and had never had to sort out his thoughts before. Half of his thoughts were about Hinata and Hiashi and everything to come, another portion was on how to tell Gaara tonight of what has happened so suddenly that they must leave, and the last portion was on Tenten and how he pushed her down on a scorching floor out of rage. And that portion seemed to only grow, covering all the rest for the moment. He had burnt her! She hadn't done anything wrong and he had burnt her! Neji quickly snapped away from his thoughts and marched back to the door.

"Where are you going?" the lazy prince asked, already knowing the answer.

"Tenten is very irresponsible. I have to go make sure she takes care of her wounds properly.

"Wait"

This time it was Naruto to speak and the Wind Prince turned to him. Naruto continued staring at the ground, obviously still sorting out his own thoughts. It took a few moments before Naruto looked up to stare at the prince straight on.

"You can't take her"

"What?" the prince questioned, already knowing the answer but refusing to believe it.

"You can't take Hinata." Naruto replied with more confidence.

"You have no say in the matter" Neji replied defiantly as Naruto glared back.

"Actually I do. She denounced her name, meaning she is no longer a Hyuga, but she _is_ my maid. She goes where I go. You can try to fight me on this but I will fight back." Neji glared darkly at the Water Prince as he continued, "I don't know exactly what's going on still, but I've only heard part of the story and it's all been from your point of view. All I do know for sure is that princesses have it harder than princes. I don't remember all the details but my parents told me of it once before. How the princesses don't get to leave the castle. As princes we must be watched over by the guards, but our security is less than that of the princesses. My parents once told me that a princess must have a guard at her side, even inside the safety of the castle. Her own home. And at nights the guards must stand outside the doors. The princess must always be protected for she is most important. She is the most valuable object in the castle." As Naruto continued, he was drawn back into the old memory of his.

"_Object? Don't you mean most valuable person?" a fourteen year old Naruto asked._

"_No, the princess is a person… that's true but in most castles' she is most of the time treated as an object. Like a jewel that must not be stolen." Minato explained to his son while his wife just listened in the corner, "You see Naruto; a princess is very precious because they will be carrying on the linage of another royal family and her own. They will get married but to whom the father chooses. His decision will be made with much influence on who will benefit his country the most?"_

"_Benefit?"_

"_It means who will… help out his country or keep it most protected. Whoever offers the best alliance will get the princess. If there are no more allies at the moment, then it will go to the most eligible prince with the biggest protection force to help solidify the bonds between the countries."_

"_Solidify the bond?"_

"_It means to make it more permanent, so if the country were to be under attack, the country that the princess joined forces with must come to help as soon as they get notice."_

_Naruto thought for a moment about what his father said before asking, "What about mom? Was she given to you?"_

_Both parents chuckled at this before Minato replied, "No, our parents were very good friends and we had known each other since we were young. We were very lucky."_

"_I want to be like you guys!"_

_Kushina chuckled at her son and stood up as she walked towards him and Minato, "Well our good friends happen to be the Uchiha's who don't have any daughters. So I'm afraid you're out of luck."_

_Naruto glared at the thought of the Uchiha's and his best friend who was male and a jerk, "Yeah, you're right" he grouched, "there's no way I'm marrying him. No matter how close we are." His parents both laughed loudly at this as he continued, "I don't want to marry someone who was given to me either though. I want the girl I marry to want me back."_

Naruto pulled out of his thoughts and faced the princes who were looking at him strangely. Shikamaru and Sasuke seemed almost impressed with what he said as Neji seemed to be contemplating everything that he had said.

"There are times that I feel trapped within the castle myself. Although I wish she could've trusted me, I do not blame Hinata. She had feared that if I knew the truth I would've sent her back to you. I've known you longer than I've known her. It'd make sense that I would be on your side."

Shikamaru and Sasuke smirked, knowing where this was going.

"I never have made sense to most people though. That's why you can't take her. I want to know her side of the story as well."

Again the room was filled with silence and finally Neji glared back at Naruto.

"Well hurry up then" Neji replied, walking out the door.

Naruto grinned and followed him out causing Sasuke to stand up. Shikamaru looked up at him questioningly and he just shrugged.

"I have to go drop Sakura's stuff off in her room. I think I haven't given her enough freedom. She's constantly under my watch and I'd better fix it before this becomes a problem and she ends up running away too." He scoffed a bit at his own joke and Shikamaru smirked back at him.

"Well, I see no point of me staying here alone then." He said standing up and following Sasuke out the door.

* * *

><p>"You know, I don't think packing is going to help right now. You'd be noticed in those clothes and I don't think the guards at the gate are just going to let you walk through the gates with your bag."<p>

Hinata immediately stopped packing and looked back up at Tenten before nodding and heading for the door.

"Are you sure you can find your way out? We were lost for quite a bit earlier." The brunette replied

Hinata turned back around and smiled sweetly before replying, "I'll manage somehow"

"I'll help then"

Hinata turned back around again to see the pink-haired girl step forward. She instantly shook her head in objection but Sakura didn't listen.

"I remember the way to the front doors. I'm really good with memorizing directions. I can lead you out. Tenten's right… there's no way you'll get through the front gates so I'll help you find another way out. There was a village that the Fire carriage passed not too far away. It was pretty big. I'll lead you there and that's where you can hide. If anything, I can slow Naruto down from finding you if they catch up."

Hinata was about to shake her head in defiance when Tenten spoke up again, "That's good. You should have someone with you anyways. I would have liked to come with you but Neji still is the prince I serve. If he asks about you, which I bet he will, I'll have to tell him the truth. I can't completely take your side in my position but I can stay on neutral ground. You are both Wind Royalty so in a way, I serve you both."

Hinata could only nod in reply as she was too stunned to say anything. Here were all these girls she just met and they were helping her out.

"I agree with Tenten and Pinky. I would also like to help but am not in the best condition."

"It's Sakura" the girl replied back, glaring at Ino before turning to Hinata once more, "We better hurry, we don't know when they'll come back, or if we'll even run into them on our way out."

"W-wait" Hinata managed to stutter, finally finding her voice, "You c-could get in trouble."

Sakura smiled and nodded back in reply.

"I know," she stated, "but I know what it's like. I wanted so bad to go home when I was taken away to the Fire Castle and you want just as badly not to return. I could get in trouble, but I always have to do what I feel is right. I don't feel as bad about being a maid anymore, for Sasuke has shown kindness to me, but I still feel strongly that people should never be trapped in one place." She smiled warmly one more time before replying, "Come on, we must hurry." With that said the two girls disappeared outside the door.

* * *

><p>"Ugh! I can't believe we're lost! Shikamaru do something!" Naruto screamed. Naruto had been leading them around aimlessly for the last twenty minutes and they now seemed to be in a completely deserted part of the castle.<p>

"I can't" Shikamaru replied, "I've only been to the maid quadrants once now and I was too worried about Ino to pay attention to the directions."

"Same here," Sasuke replied, "I was worried about Sakura. I didn't exactly trust your maids' yet."

"And I was too preoccupied with Hinata" Neji stated as Naruto growled in frustration.

"Well I know I asked that maid the directions earlier, but I must've taken a wrong turn somewhere."

"Obviously" Sasuke scoffed earning a glare from Naruto.

"Well, I guess our best bet of finding the room now is finding someone else to give us directions again" Shikamaru said in his usual uncaring tone.

And so the boys set off to find anyone at all.

* * *

><p>Sakura and Hinata had made it out of the castle with ease but getting through the gate proved to be more of a challenge.<p>

"Finally," Sakura replied as they stopped in front of the stone wall, "This wall is actually quite short compared to most outer castle walls and the security is like nonexistent here. My guess is that since it's in a desert like area, not many people will be trying to take it for land and any intruders will be spotted when nearing the castle since there are no outside chores really, meaning no people probably walk outside except the guards. This wall might've proven a challenge for one person to climb but for two it should be a cinch. Now let's see what we can do…. Ow ow ow ow ow!"

Sakura hissed in pain. She had walked up to examine the wall for any easy grips, placing both hands on the wall before pulling away. She looked down at her hands before stating, "Well, that's the reason the wall isn't any higher. It doesn't need to be. It's scorching hot, just like the castle."

"S-so w-what do we d-do?" Hinata asked as the pinkette thought for a moment. She glanced over at Hinata skeptically before slightly shaking her head and glancing up one more time, as if she was deciding whether to even state her thoughts.

"How much are you willing to risk to make sure you don't have to go back to Wind?"

Hinata didn't even have to hesitate before stating, "Anything!"

Sakura nodded her head in understanding before replying, "Then get ready for a little pain. Come on; help me up onto your shoulders."

Hinata did as she was told and they were just about as tall as the wall now. Sakura could just see above it with her eyes.

"Okay," she explained, "I'm going to pull myself up, then you."

"B-but you'll have to touch the w-wall!" Hinata stuttered out, "Y-you'll get burned!"

"So will you" Sakura answered back, "You'll probably have to touch the wall too but you said you'd risk anything so come on and remember to do exactly as I say. The quicker we pull this off, the less damage it will cause."

With much resistance, Hinata slowly approached the wall with the girl on her shoulders. Finally Sakura was able to reach and grasped onto the top of the wall. She immediately hissed in pain as she pulled herself up, using her entire arms. As soon as she was all the way on top of the wall she stood up, holding herself in a hug without actually touching her arms to anything. Hinata stepped back and looked at Sakura's arms from down below. Her eyes grew wide at the gruesome sight in front of her.

"A-are you alright?"

Sakura paused a moment more with a pained expression before trying to cover it with a smile, "It'll be fine. I got up quite quickly, considering, so they're not as bad as Tenten's. Just a little bit more skin got scorched than hers." Sakura replied, talking about the burnt skin from the elbow to the armpit that Tenten didn't have. "Now it's your turn" Sakura stated as she squatted down trying to reach for the girl. As she thought, the height was too much and Hinata was about a couple feet out of reach. Hinata tried jumping for Sakura's hands but she quickly moved them. "That won't work," she replied, "I'm too off balanced squatting like this."

Hinata only nodded in understanding, "S-so what now?"

Again Sakura thought a moment before stating, "Hurry". Hinata was about to ask what she meant but figured out she didn't have to as it became quite clear what the girl had meant. Sakura slowly lowered herself down onto her stomach on the scorching stone and hung her arms down for Hinata.

"Jump!" She hissed out and as much as she wanted to, Hinata didn't protest against what the girl was doing. She jumped up catching the pinkette's scorched arms. The weight of Hinata pressed Sakura's body closer to the stone so she got the full effect.

"Ahh!" She screamed out in pain as Hinata climbed up her blistering arms. As soon as she could reach Hinata grabbed hold of the ledge and like Sakura before, pulled herself up by her arms. She too hissed, but knew it was for the better as Sakura was now able to stand up. Sakura helped raise Hinata up the rest of the way and they jumped down the other side, onto the ground. Now that they were outside the gates, Hinata glanced down at her arms that matched Sakura's.

"Feels nice, doesn't it?" Sakura asked, chuckling a bit as Hinata hissed again. Hearing the voice Hinata glanced up and saw the Pink-haired girl who looked far worse than she did. Due to the open stomach outfit, her entire stomach had been scorched badly! Hinata felt a wave of guilt overcome her as she examined the girl's stomach. This girl wouldn't have been hurt this bad if it wasn't for her.

"I'm so s-sorry" she whimpered as Sakura looked down at her in shock.

"Don't be!" She exclaimed, "It was my choice to come with you. It was also my choice to go over that wall instead of trying to find another way and I knew what was going to happen. In fact I should thank you. You did exactly as I told you and didn't even hesitate when I lied down on the wall. Most people would've told me immediately to get back up, but I would've already have scorched myself so they would've just been wasting their time. Thanks to you we were able to pull this off quite quickly and besides… you could've climbed up my body to prevent getting scorched yourself which is what I had planned, but instead you pulled yourself up from the wall as soon as you were able. I know you did that for me, so thank you."

The two girls smiled at each other before realizing they still had to make it to the village and took off in that direction.

"I think I've won when it comes to which maid got scorched the worst!" Sakura joked as they ran off in the direction the Fire Carriage had come from.

* * *

><p>"Finally we made it!" Naruto exclaimed as again he opened the door with out knocking.<p>

All four princes walked in to find Tenten sitting on the bed with Ino, wrapping her feet in some cloth.

They both glanced up in surprise, not expecting the princes to come back this early.

Shikamaru and Neji pushed to the front as they stopped in front of their maids. Shikamaru glanced over at Neji who was staring intensely at Tenten's untreated wounds.

"I'll take over from here" Shikamaru announced as he walked up to Ino and placed his hand on Tenten's shoulder to confirm he could handle the rest. She slowly stood up and walked for the door to go to her room as Neji grabbed the upper part of her arms to prevent her from leaving. Without saying a word he pulled her towards the other bed. She got the hint and let him guide her there as she took a seat and set some distance between them.

"Why haven't you treated yours yet?" was all he asked as he stared intensely into the skeptical girl's eyes. She was watching him like a hawk. Almost as if she expected him to toss her to the floor again.

"A maid went to go fetch some ice first."

It was obvious that this girl was not in the mood to have a conversation with him which he didn't really blame her.

"I'm sorry" he replied. This seemed to catch the girl's attention so he continued, "I acted irrationally. I only had one thing going through my head that I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings and even that is not a good enough excuse for what I did." Tenten looked away silently but Neji could tell she was still listening, "I wanted you to trust me, but I ended up hurting you worse than anyone else so far. For that I am sorry."

The door opened as a maid brought in some ice in a bucket and placed it on the bed before she bowed and walked off. Tenten reached for the ice but Neji placed his hand above the bucket to stop her.

"Let me" was all he said as he started tending to her wounds. She looked really uncomfortable at first but as soon as the ice touched her skin she hissed, showing her first sign of pain towards the wound.

"I'm sorry about what I said earlier." Neji replied as the girl looked back up at him again and he continued, "About maids being as low as dirt." He paused a moment and then replied, "I wish I could say I didn't mean it, but I don't want to lie to you. Some part of me believes that." Even Shikamaru stopped what he was doing to glance over at Neji. In a matter of seconds, all eyes were on him as he continued, "Being dirt isn't that bad though I think. People walk all over you and you don't have a say in the matter but you can fight back. Dirt that's been soaking in the sun can scorch people," he replied as he looked down at Tenten wounds, "The wind back home blows dirt around and it gets into peoples eyes and causes irritation for days. Dirt can hardened and form mountains and rocks that cannot be moved. It can also form turn to mud with the help of water. Some dirt can even turn into sinking sand which has the power to cause death." Neji paid no attention to all the eyes on him. It was almost as if he were talking more to himself, "Not many people think much of dirt… like me… but dirt can be so much more than it seems. When I look at it that way. being as low as dirt doesn't seem quite as bad. Being as low as dirt means that people will always look down on you and underestimate all the great things you can do." Neji finally looked back up to find the girl in front of him smiling at him. She didn't come back with any mocking retorts and just smiled.

Tenten wasn't quite sure of what to think of Neji's little speech, but she did know everything he said was the truth and he really was trying to fix his wrong doing.

Everyone else slowly came out of the sort of trance the feeling of the room had put them in. Naruto was the next to speak.

"Where's Hinata?"

Both girls looked down and Naruto repeated slower this time, "Where's Hinata?"

Neji also glanced around the room before looking at the girl in front of him. The smile was now gone as she stared at the ground.

"Tenten?" he questioned

"She doesn't want to go back to Wind."

"I'm not taking her back."

Tenten looked back up at him in shock.

"What?"

This time it was Neji's turn to look away before he replied, "As I stated before, I overreacted. If she really has denounced the Hyuga name, I have no say in this matter. Besides, she's now a maid and has to do as her master says and he apparently says she's not leaving with us."

Neji smirked and Tenten glanced up at the blonde prince who stared down at her and asked once more, "Where's Hinata?"

"She left"

"What?" both Neji and Naruto asked simultaneously.

"She thought that she had to go back to Wind, so she left."

This time a new voice interrupted the silence.

"Where's Sakura?"

Ino glanced up at the Fire Prince before replying, "She went with her."

A loud thump was heard as Sakura's luggage Sasuke had been holding the entire time fell to the ground.

* * *

><p><strong>And there you go! I liked this chapter far better than the last! And yes people, every girl ended up getting burned! Haha! <strong>

**I almost feel bad for Sasuke! Haha, he was going to let Sakura spend the night with the other girls to give her more freedom and she still ran away! I really liked Neji in this chapter… especially his little dirt speech! Haha… (They always say that most geniuses have a weird way of communicating)…**

**A lot of people however wanted to hear Hinata's story… So I'm sorry if this wasn't what you were expecting but I am planning on having her talk a bit about what happened after she left the castle later on… If there is anything else you might have questions on about her post, just put it in a review and I'll try to slip it in sometime or at least answer it at the end of a chapter…**

**Anyways, I hope everyone enjoyed… Please Review, ask questions, send jokes… whatever's fine… =P **

**Until next time!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hello again! Thank you for the reviews and peeps make sure to look at my memo at the bottom… For that could be changing the format of the story… =)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

* * *

><p><strong>My Prince Charming<strong>

**Chapter 17**

* * *

><p>Only one thing crossed Sasuke's mind as Sakura's bags fell to the ground.<p>

'_She was gone'_

Even Neji's maid had stayed after what he did to her but Sakura had left. A swarm of mixed emotions filled him at once. Anger, at her for leaving; anguish, at losing someone else; worry, for if something were to happen, and guilt, that he had done something to make her want to leave, like not giving her enough freedom. Maybe he had been too overprotective.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when the blonde pushed past him and darted out the door. A moment later he chased after Naruto with the other two boys following close behind.

"Naruto! Sasuke! Wait up!" Shikamaru shouted.

"You don't even know where you're going." Neji stated, running next to the Earth Prince.

The Water and Fire Prince stopped as realization set in. As soon as the other two princes' caught up, Shikamaru spoke after catching his breath.

"Now we have no clue where they could be, so our best bet would be to check the front gates first."

"There's no way the guard would've let them out." Sasuke retorted, obviously impatient at the moment.

"I agree," the lazy prince replied back, "But it's better to first figure out how far they haven't gotten, so we know the limits of where we'll have to look."

The princes all nodded their heads in agreement, before running off to the front gates.

* * *

><p>"Ungh..." Sakura groaned and Hinata looked over with a worried expression.<p>

"A-are you alright?"

"I'm fine"

"Sh-should we stop? There's a tree up there."

Sakura glanced up and saw a tree in the middle of the deserted plane.

"That's good," she replied, "That means we're about halfway there, but we shouldn't stop. We don't have time."

As they approached the tree, Hinata walked over to the shade, placing her hand gently on the ground. The sand was hot but not enough to burn.

"I think we should s-stop" Hinata stated this time with more confidence. Sakura was about to object but Hinata just shook her head, "You're hurt. The sun is making it worse. We should at least take ten minutes to rest in the shade. If they catch up, we'll deal with that then but for now we must rest." She spoke more sophisticated, like Neji than her usual stuttering self and Sakura could only nod back.

They then sat down in the shade and Sakura leaned against the tree, glancing down at her stomach, which was not a pretty sight.

"You know, I don't think this will help much. We don't have anything to tend to these burns with."

"Yeah, b-but the sun is hurting it more."

"Well the sun isn't going away anytime soon."

"Just rest"

* * *

><p>The boys finally arrived at the front gates and ran up to the guards.<p>

"Have two girls left through here? One has white eyes and another has pink hair." Naruto asked desperately as the guards' shook their heads.

"The gates haven't opened since the Fire Prince arrived this morning." One guard replied back.

"The pink-haired girl is his maid." Naruto stated more to himself, knowing that even that piece of information wouldn't help them. "Thanks anyway"

The princes all turned around when one guard called out, "Hold on the minute"

They all turned around and the guard continued, "Pink is a hard color to miss," as he spoke he looked over at Sasuke, "I seen the girl exit the castle with someone else. They didn't leave through the gates but went around the castle. There is no other way out besides these gates without getting scorched but they left about fifteen minutes ago. That should've been plenty of time to realize there was no other way out, but they have yet to come back."

"We should go scope the back then." Naruto replied and headed off when Neji stopped him.

"You obviously weren't listening. He said they should've been back by now but they're not. They've probably left."

Naruto glared back at the Hyuga, "_You_ obviously weren't listening. He said there was no other way out of the castle besides through these gates."

"Unless they wanted to get scorched" Shikamaru blandly stated, stepping into the circle, "Tenten and Ino have already been scorched. If Ino could handle walking from the maid quadrants to the dining hall and Tenten can lie on the ground for as long as she did without flinching, that means it's bearable."

"But the stones are probably colder inside! And just because they didn't complain, you both saw their burns! The blonde can hardly even walk right now!"

"Even so," Shikamaru explained, "Hinata didn't want to go back to Wind. She _had_ to leave. I'm sure with that motivation she would be willing to scorch herself a bit. It'd be a small price to pay for her freedom, I'm sure."

"No," Naruto answered back stubbornly, "Hinata wouldn't have done that. She would've been too…"

"What do you know?" Neji snapped back, instantly catching Naruto's attention, "You thought she was some shy, quiet, peasant girl! You don't know anything of her. Quit acting like you do."

The tension had built immensely before Sasuke broke it, "So, what now?"

"You guys take the carriage," Shikamaru replied, "Head towards that town Tenten said they were heading to. Neji and I will make sure they still aren't here. If we find them we'll send another carriage to meet you in the village."

Sasuke simply nodded and Naruto just stared at the ground with an anguished expression. Sasuke took off to get a carriage and Naruto walked off slowly, not saying a word. Neji knew that what he said had hurt the young prince, but what hurt most is it was all the truth. Neji felt a little bit of guilt still but just brushed it off.

* * *

><p>"Y-you said you wanted to escape the castle before. W-what made you change your mind?"<p>

Sakura and Hinata took the ten minute rest and then started off again, going at a slower pace this time, due to their aching arms and stomach. Sakura smiled as if remembering a past memory of the prince.

"I tried running away, the first day and was sent to Sasuke's room. He thought I was a boy at first." She laughed at this before continuing, "I wore a hat to cover my hair. I hated Sasuke. I thought he was horrible and stuck up and protected from the pain of losing someone you love, but I was wrong. Sasuke lost his parents a couple years ago and then his brother left. He knew more of loss than I did and I treated him horribly because I assumed I knew him. He left for a few days, locking me in his room after I was attacked by other maids. When he came back, he brought me a letter from home. My mother was sick and thanks to him, she's been getting better according to my fathers letter. I was furious at him for locking me in his room, but he did it for me. For my protection. I've never been really nice to him. He get's on my nerves even now, but everything I'm bothered by he does for me. He's cold and rude, and has major mood swings, but underneath all that hardness, there's a kind man. I owe him a lot, so I won't run away anymore. He's lost so much already so I've decided as long as he needs me; I won't leave him… at least not without the thought of returning."

Hinata smiled sadly to herself at this. This girl beside her started off hating the prince she served and with just a few acts of kindness, she decided never to leave him. Her thoughts then traveled to the blonde she served.

"I didn't want to leave Naruto."

Sakura looked up at the girl who seemed lost in her own thoughts.

"He's shown me so much kindness… and trust. I never once hated him, or thought of running away. At the Wind castle, I never felt more trapped, but at the Water castle… with Naruto…"

"It was different" Sakura finished for her.

"I d-didn't want to run away." Hinata repeated as Sakura nodded her head in reply.

"I know," she stated, "I could tell that the moment he left the room earlier."

* * *

><p>'<em>She had to leave. I'm sure with that motivation she would be willing to scorch herself a bit.'<em>

Sasuke couldn't get Shikamaru's words out of his head. Hinata had a reason to scorch herself, but Sakura was with her. Did she have a good enough reason to leave? Was she that miserable with him? Why had she left? What did he do wrong? Questions kept running through his mind, giving him a headache and adding to his irritation as rage built up in him. Meanwhile, Naruto was having thoughts of his own.

'_What do you know? You thought she was some shy, quiet, peasant girl! You don't know anything of her. Quit acting like you do!'_

Neji was right. He knew nothing of the girl. Even her shy demeanor seemed unreal with the way she spoke to the Wind Prince earlier. To him, Hinata was a shy, normal girl who always wanted to help others and wore a constant small smile on her face. Today he had seen a different side of Hinata that he did not know existed. A poised, confident girl with a sad past who was trapped within the walls of her own home, and wasn't allowed to help anyone for everyone helped her with everything she did. Neji knew more of this girl and it killed him inside to think that some other guy knew more than him even if it was family.

Naruto then broke from his thoughts as the carriage passed a tree in the middle of nowhere.

* * *

><p>"Do you think Naruto will ever f-forgive me?"<p>

Sakura looked at the girl as they walked along the empty plane. Sakura smiled warmly back at her, "Of course he will! He seems a lot more forgiving than the other princes'. Besides, he's the one who was going to let your cousin take you back without saying anything. You should be the one forgiving him."

"I'm the one who lied. So I c-can't blame him."

Sakura wasn't listening as she shouted out, "Look! There's the town! Come on!"

Sakura ran a few steps before stopping abruptly, turning around. Hinata followed her gaze to see a carriage coming their way.

"That's the Fire Carriage." Sakura stated, "Run!"

Both girls took off, but of course the carriage was faster, with the horses and was catching up quickly.

"This is it!" Sakura called as the galloping got louder, "You keep running! I'll distract them as long as I can. With my wounds, that won't be long. Once you get to the town, hide." Hinata started to object but Sakura stopped her, "This is what I came along for; to give you some time. I'm not the one running away, remember?"

Hinata could only nod. She had almost forgotten the other girl wasn't running away. In just the short amount of time they were together, they had already seemed to become close friends. Sakura finally slowed down and Hinata did as she was told. As soon as the carriage had gotten in reasonable distance it stopped and Naruto jumped out.

"Hinata!" he called, as if not even noticing the pink-haired girl. As soon as he ran by her though she caught his attention, grabbing both his arms and pulling him from behind.

"Let go!" he hollered as he was obviously trying to break out of the pinkette's grasp, watching as the distance between him and his maid grew farther once again, "Let go! I'm not letting her leave!"

"No!" Sakura yelled back, tugging at the blonde's arms as she drove her heels into the ground. A moment later a pair of arms wrapped tightly around her waist and yanked her off the ground and away from the blonde. Sakura screamed in agony.

"Ahh!"

As soon as he was free, Naruto didn't bother getting in the carriage and took off after Hinata, shouting her name as she neared the town.

"Let me go!" Sakura replied as Sasuke tightened his grip, causing her to scream once more.

"She's not going back to Wind." He snapped at her, causing her to freeze. She hadn't even seen him get out of the carriage.

"Sasuke?" she questioned as he continued.

"Naruto isn't letting Neji take the girl back"

Once hearing that, Sakura stopped struggling and Sasuke dragged her back to the carriage. Instead of tossing her in which she figured he would, he threw her against the carriage and trapped her there, both arms on each side of her head. Sakura glanced into his eyes to see only one emotion… Rage…

"What did you think you were doing?" he seethed out at the girl

"Sasuke, I…"

"You were running away!"

"No Sasuke, I was…"

"You think you can run away from me?" Sasuke shouted, "You think you can actually run away from me and I'd just let you do it?"

"Sasuke, I wasn't…"

"Well you can't! I'd find you! I'd always find…"

"I wasn't running away Sasuke!" Sakura yelled back. Although his rage didn't falter, he stopped long enough to hear what she had to say, "I just wanted to help her… I was going to…"

"Going to what?" he retorted back, "Going to come back? Act like everything was still normal when you had just helped a missing royal escape again?"

Sakura looked down in shame, "I was just doing what I felt was right…"

Sasuke was almost seeing red at how much fury he was feeling. Of course, his anger was caused by his headache, his worry, his anguish, and his pain. It all just added to the flame growing inside him. He couldn't contain it anymore and roughly grabbed the girl by her arms. Again she screamed and he finally heard it. Her screams before had died on deaf ears but now he let her go and was finally able to take in her appearance.

He first looked down at her arms. The entire bottoms of her arms were seared from the fingers up to the armpit. As he trailed down her arm his eyes widened at her stomach. It literally looked as if she had crawled out of a fire pit. The wrath within him grew at the thought that she had gone this far just to get away from him. Even though she had said it had nothing to do with him, the little demon inside his head refused to let him believe her. It kept screaming at him how he was the reason she ran away and had gotten hurt once again. The pain in his chest was becoming unbearable and he just wanted to get physical. He wanted to manhandle her, push, shove, grab, (nothing too violent) but just the feeling of being in control to lessen his stress… but he couldn't. He couldn't touch her, she was too fragile. She was burnt everywhere… if he touched her anywhere, he would hurt her. He couldn't do anything, not to help make her better, not to help make himself feel better even… he was useless and it made him feel helpless.

Sakura watched as Sasuke battled his mind for some sanity. Finally he lifted a fist and she had thought he was going to hit her until her brought it down, right next to her head. It made a loud clang as it hit the carriage side and he yelled.

"Damnit Sakura!"

She just watched him as he looked helplessly at her. He looked completely exhausted. He took a few breaths before letting his head hang, so she could no longer look him in the eye.

"Get in the carriage…" he commanded in a defeated tone. One Sakura had never heard before. She obeyed and climbed in. He stayed outside a minute more trying to calm down before he too climbed in and they headed off to find the other two royals still in the village and hopefully back together by now.

* * *

><p>"Hinata!" Naruto called as he ran through the town. He knew as soon as they reached the town that it would be near impossible to find her if she did not want to be found. However, near impossible still meant that there was some sort of chance and as long as there was any chance at all of finding her, he would not give up.<p>

Hinata heard him call out to her, even watched as he passed by, but she would not give in. He had chased her for ten minutes before she finally found refuge in an empty crate surround by others filled with vegetables and fruits. It was in front of one of the street vendors in the town square. Naruto glanced around and she watched him through the boards in the crate as he spun, making sure he didn't miss her moving about. She watched as he sighed, exhausted from the chase. When it came to training at the castle he had plenty of stamina, but with running around for so long, and his emotions on the fritz, he was physically and mentally drained.

He walked out to the middle of the square, ignoring all the glances he was receiving, before dropping to his knees. He was only in that position for a moment before flipping over and sitting Indian style in the middle of the square so he could watch everything that was going on. After a few minutes, people just moved about as if nothing were out of the ordinary. As if the blonde had become invisible. He started talking again, but in a normal tone, more to himself as the passerby's ignored him now. Hinata strained to hear what he said as he talked.

"Now I'll see you if you move. If you leave, I'll follow. I won't stop looking and I will sit right here until you show yourself." Hinata knew he had no clue where she was hiding but he talked as if he had found her, but in a normal, calm tone, "You can't leave me. You're my maid. You said you were happy working for me rather than anyone else. You also said you didn't want to go home. A lot of people find me odd and don't think I'm very good at remembering things… which they're right… I'm not…"

Some people did glance down at Naruto as he spoke, but didn't stay long enough to hear him even finish a sentence. He didn't care though. He wasn't talking to them. He was talking to himself, and someone else he could only dream was listening, "I'm terrible at remembering things… but I remember you… I remember all our conversations and every smile you shared with me. Of course there are some more important things I could remember and maybe that's why I'm considered odd… but I just remember you…"

Hinata listened as the prince spoke. She wanted to go out there but she didn't want to be tricked. She wished she could go comfort the prince but she just kept listening instead.

"If you leave… will I remember you?" Naruto tore his gaze away from scanning the crowd and looked at the sandy ground, "You're the thing I remember most. What would happen if I forgot the one thing I can remember everything about?" He wished someone could answer these questions he was stating aloud that clouded his head. "I can't let that happen. I can't let you leave, not in a carriage, not on your own, not even with Neji." Hinata's eyes widened at this as he continued, "He may be your cousin, and he may know a lot more about you than I do but I don't care. I know everything about you in my mind, and even if it's all a lie…" he paused not knowing what to say next as he rambled on to himself, "Well, even if it's all a lie, I still want to know more about you…"

He glanced up again with more confidence and his grin forced on his face as he spoke louder this time, "Maybe in time, you'll learn to trust me! And maybe next time I'll know everything about the real you, instead of the one you just made up, to hide who you really are."

Hinata couldn't take it anymore as tears built up in her eyes. She buried her face in her knees and pulled them tightly to her chest as ironically Naruto did the same. They both cried silent tears only a mere twenty feet away from each other; one two afraid to go ask for forgiveness and the other to afraid to move at the thought of missing the one thing he couldn't leave without.

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><p><strong>Mwahaha! Will Hinata build up the courage to go meet Naruto? Find out in the next chapter! =P<strong>

**This was a fun chapter to write… =) And yes, I realize Sakura must look like a shish kabob right now… but this is made up, so there will be no scarring…**

**Oh right! Someone has brought up in a review as to why my chapters are all in center text… (Now I realize most stories are not… but for some strange reason I thought it was written somewhere in the guidelines that they had to be in center text… =p) so I went back and checked and it wasn't… So now I have a question for all of you to answer… =)**

**I would like anyone who reviews… (If you remember too) please tell me which style you'd much rather prefer… *Centered or regular* ~I myself happen to like regular but I'm okay with both~**

***Depending on how many people like it a certain way, I will change my style from now on… And possibly go back and change the other chapters as soon as I learn how… =P (If anyone knows… you can also feel free to tell me that haha… and I will make the changes in past chapters when I go back to correct the spelling/grammar mistakes I have made)**

**Anyways, read and review! =) **


	19. Chapter 19

**Hey Peeps! Finally back with another chapter!**

I just want to say I thought about everyone's reviews and opinions on the format of this story and have decided to stay in 'centered' text for the remainder of this story. However any other stories I post up from now on will be in regular format… =) *Although I don't know if I'll still have some of my readers on my next story… since it is a Sakura/Gaara pairing…*

Anyways, more people thought the story was more 'my own' in centered text so I will leave it that way… and most of the reviews that said to make it regular said that they didn't mind either way… There was one review that had me thinking though… that said the centered could be affecting how many people are reading my work and therefore I might be getting less reviews… I just wanted to say that I too have thought about that… And I want to thank you for your kind review but in the end I decided that even though I love reviews… I will hopefully just get more on my next story by doing it in the right format, but for right now I am content… =)

As my favorite quote by Alfred North Whitehead goes, "A man really writes for an audience of about ten people. Of course if others like it, that is clear gain, but if those ten are satisfied, he is content."

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto<strong>

**My Prince Charming**

**Chapter 18**

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><p>"Naruto?"<p>

The blonde raised his head to see Sasuke and Sakura walking toward him.

"I haven't seen her yet" he mumbled out as they approached him. He rested his head on his crossed arms and stared down at the ground.

"I'm sure she's still here." Sakura replied.

"How do you know?"

"She is…" Sakura insisted, "I'm sure she is."

"I told you to stay in the carriage." Sasuke glowered, "People are staring."

It was true. People were starting to stare at the wounded girl with the unusual hair color but she wasn't paying any attention to them. Instead her eyes scanned the streets before landing on a miniature produce stand.

"Do you forgive her?"

Naruto looked up at Sakura questioningly.

"What? What for?" he asked, "She didn't do anything wrong. I don't blame her for what she did."

"Good," Sakura stated, "I'm hungry"

"What?" Sasuke asked.

"I'm hungry" Sakura repeated. She may not have known Naruto but Sasuke couldn't believe how inconsiderate she was being.

"There's going to be a dinner at the castle tonight."

"Can I just get a few apples for us to eat on the way back?"

Sasuke sighed before giving her some money. He looked over at the crates and told her to buy a couple tomatoes too and she just nodded. As she walked off Sasuke sat next to Naruto. Sakura was acting really strange. She had never complained about her hunger before, but since it was only human nature, Sasuke just brushed it off as nothing.

Sakura walked off to the stand and started looking through the fruits and vegetables.

"Did you hear that?"

Hinata looked up from the crate she was hiding in and watched as Sakura leaned over it to grab some tomatoes, not even glancing down at the girl.

"H-how did you know?"

"It's an obvious hiding place." Sakura stated, checking a tomato and then placing it back, "Even Naruto would've had the brains to look here if his emotions weren't so blown out of proportion. He's a mess. Of course I don't need to tell you that. You have a clear view of it."

At this, Hinata glanced back at the blonde whose head was once again buried between his knees.

"He isn't going to give you over to Neji you know." Sakura continued, "He told Neji that and according to Sasuke, Neji finally gave in."

Hinata looked back up at Sakura who was now paying for her tomatoes and apples. Before going back she spoke again.

"Hurry up. We have a dinner at the castle tonight and Naruto isn't moving until you agree to come back with us."

Sakura then walked back to the guys and Sasuke stood up to grab a tomato.

"We'll be in the carriage when you're ready to leave." She replied to the blonde, walking off, giving Sasuke no choice but to follow if he wanted his delicious, red treat.

Naruto hadn't heard what Sakura said. In fact, he could hardly hear anything. He could see the feet of people walking by as he looked at the ground, but the sound of their steps seemed to be muted. In this deafening silence, a voice rang out.

"N-Naruto"

This stuttering voice was all he needed to hear as he looked up into the big, white eyes staring down at him innocently. Naruto didn't move. He didn't speak and he didn't even smile as he sat there, staring back up at her. In truth, he was afraid that if he had moved, so much as blinked, she would disappear again. A moment of silence had passed as the two stared at each other.

"I'm s-sorry for r-running away" she said, fidgeting nervously in front of the man that very much resembled a statue.

The next moment was a blur as Hinata was immediately embraced in a hug. She was in such a shock; she had forgotten the pain in her arms momentarily. Naruto had moved so fast, even the speed of light could not keep up. He did that on purpose, to make sure he caught her even if she was just a mirage.

"Don't do that, ever again" was all he said as his grip tightened.

"N-Naruto," she squeaked, "m- my arms"

He let go with a quizzical look before noticing what she meant.

"You're hurt," he shouted, stating the obvious, "We've got to get you back to the castle!" He ran over to the carriage and swung the door open while yelling, "You guys! Hinata's hurt! We've got to get back to the castle pront…"

He paused as he finally took in Sakura's appearance as she was in the middle of taking a bite from her apple. Sasuke glared at his friend, whose eyes traveled down Sakura's body, even though he knew it was due to Sakura's wounds and was not meant in any predatory way. Naruto stared at Sakura long and hard, then back at Hinata before jumping in the carriage, exclaiming, "You look even worse!"

After Naruto had calmed down, the carriage grew extremely quiet.

"…"

"Want an apple?" Sakura offered, handing both other passengers the fruit. She would've offered them both a tomato too, but she was sure they would probably decline, and besides, it didn't look like Sasuke was in the mood to share them as he kept them possessively in his lap and stared out the carriage window, munching away.

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><p>"The Fire and Water Princes' have returned." Matsuri stated as she walked into the room that Shikamaru and Neji sat with their maids. "I have come to inform you that they are in the medical wing if you want to go see them."<p>

"What happened?" Neji asked; his thoughts instantly reverted to his cousin.

"I'm not quite sure. I've just heard that the maids needed a little tending too."

Immediately Tenten stood up to follow Neji out the door but Matsuri stopped them.

"Once you arrive, please tell them the dinner will be prepared soon. Please feel free to let your maids join us as well." Matsuri smiled and the two princes gave each other skeptical looks.

"I don't have any proper clothes for her." Neji shrugged and Shikamaru nodded in agreement causing Matsuri to laugh.

"It is simply dinner; not a dinner party. They are free to wear what they have on."

The princes' nodded in understanding as the girls glanced down at their bandaged bodies.

"Tenten" Neji called as the brunette glanced up and followed him out.

Shikamaru followed after shortly, but stopped as soon as he heard his name being called lightly. He turned around and was faced momentarily with his maid. She looked back up at him as he glanced to her bandaged feet that rendered her incapable of walking.

Matsuri, who had been watching the scene, chuckled slightly before stepping out the door, returning seconds later with a wheel chair.

"Here" she replied as she pushed it over to Shikamaru, "I figured you would need this. Believe it or not, stuff like this happens all the time with visitors. I guess we've had some burn other appendages, but hands and feet are most common; feet being more common to visitors."

Shikamaru nodded and Matsuri left as he went over to help Ino into the chair, before taking off to the nearest maid that could give them directions to the medical wing.

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><p>The maids' had already finished wrapping Hinata's wounds and were just about finished with Sakura's when Neji and Tenten entered the room.<p>

"Woh… I didn't know we were having a scorching contest." Tenten joked, "I guess I lost."

The other girls in the room smiled back and Neji glared lightly before glancing over to the Hyuga heiress who had bandages covering every inch of her normally flawless arms. Just seeing Hinata in this state wanted him to change his mind and take her back to Wind where she would be protected from harm, but the longer he glanced at her the more he realized why she couldn't go back. She was a completely different person from what she once was. Here she was, covered in bandages, concealing blistering burns and she wasn't even flinching or crying. She had run away not once, but twice and managed to hide herself for two years without being found. She had made it to the Water Country and even back into a palace, undetected. She had done so many things a princess shouldn't do; so many things a princess _couldn't _do; not a princess from Wind at least.

Neji was pulled out of his thoughts as soon as Shikamaru and Ino entered. Their eyes widened upon entry, immediately staring at the Pinkette's bandages covering her entire upper half to her neck. They didn't have to speak for everyone else to know what was going through the newest entries minds.

"Well, it looks like everyone will be wearing matching bandages to dinner." Tenten smiled to the Earth Prince to wear off his initial shock.

"Tenten" Neji warned.

"What?" she replied back, "Hey, maybe you guys can wrap up in bandages too!"

Tenten still didn't know when to stop her joking as every eye was now on her and Neji. Shikamaru glanced over with his usual bored expression; Sasuke obviously wasn't in the mood for joking as he looked over in annoyance. Sakura and Hinata held slightly amused looks while Naruto and Ino seemed to be contemplating the idea. Ino was thinking of how she wouldn't look like a complete failure if her prince had also been burned while Naruto was thinking about how much fun it would be.

"What do you mean 'to dinner'?" Sasuke asked as the girl's earlier words finally processed.

"The dinner tonight," Neji stated, "Gaara invited the maids to join us."

"She doesn't have anything to wear." Sasuke deadpanned before Shikamaru spoke up.

"It doesn't matter. He said to come as we are. It's casual dress. They don't need to dress…"

"We'll just go dressed as mummies." Tenten replied causing Neji to send another death glare her way for her interruption.

Naruto laughed at the remark as the other girls giggled and the two other princes' finally smirked, making Neji feel slightly mocked once again.

"Well, we better hurry up then. If Gaara's good side was what we saw this morning, I'd hate to see his bad side." Naruto chuckled out before giving a quick shiver.

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><p><strong>That's it people… So sorry for the short chapter… I will make the next one longer… I just felt bad for making everyone wait to find out what had happened to Hinata… I'm also trying not to rush the story although this chapter seemed a little rushed… (of course it might be because it's shorter of just simply my imagination… but oh well…) =P<strong>

**Also in a review, someone brought up my spelling mistakes… I just wanted to say I do looked through it two or three times before posting, but sometimes I can't catch everything… especially in the longer chapters… but thank you for telling me and once the story is complete I will go fix the mistakes I have made… =)**

**And as for more Sakura/Sasuke… I think next chapter I will put in some of their own sections… Hopefully I can get a satisfactory section for them, for you eager Sas/Sak lovers… =)**

**Anyways… Please Read, Review, and most of all Enjoy… =)**


	20. Chapter 20

**Finally another Chapter! =) Thanks for all your patience… at least this one is a bit longer than usual… so read and enjoy…**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

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><p><strong>My Prince Charming<strong>

**Chapter 19**

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><p>To call the silence awkward would be an understatement. Gaara was shocked yet not surprised to see the Earth Prince wheel his maid into the dining hall. What really surprised him though was that the next three maids to walk in had also been burned and each one worst than the last. Yet all the princes seemed unharmed.<p>

Only two explanations went through Gaara's mind at the moment. One being that the girls were extremely clumsy or two being that the princes had some major anger issues. Looking at the bandages on the last two girls, he realized that the girls possibly couldn't have gotten that wounded by a mere trip or fall.

Thinking of the later explanation made his blood boil until he saw the way the Earth and Water prince treated their maids. They both honestly didn't look like they could harm a fly, but Gaara knew from his own appearance that looks could be deceiving. With that thought back in play he resumed on with his dark glare.

Throughout dinner the silence continued until Matsuri broke it.

"I hope the dinner is to your liking." She just received silent nods before continuing, "And I hope that you will enjoy the rest of your stay. I'm glad to hear you four made it back safely."

This caught Gaara's attention as he looked over at his maid and followed her gaze to the Water and Fire princes who glanced up from their meals.

"More like they made it back alive. I wouldn't exactly call it a safe trip home." The maid from the Wind joked.

Matsuri gave a small chuckle before replying, "True, but I think they made it back safely compared to the way they left. I have to say, I was very impressed when I heard that the princes maids had escaped our castle."

"Escaped?" Gaara couldn't refrain from asking the question.

"Oh yes! The girls didn't even slip through the front gate! They went over the wall! Can you even imagine?" The others watched in silence as Matsuri explained enthusiastically about what she heard, "It looks like we might need to up our security." Matsuri finished and the others watched as she giggled.

"You sure are different…" Tenten replied as the girl gave her a questioning glance in return.

"How so?"

"Well for one, you just laughed at the security of your castle."

"Yeah," Sakura agreed as she finally spoke up, "And I've noticed that the maids are much more relaxed here."

"Yes, well Gaara believes in equality for everyone." Matsuri answered, glad a conversation was now going, "He believes some people are dealt less fortunate hands in life but that should not depict who they are."

"I would say! You asked us if we wanted to share rooms for the night." Ino ground out in a weird mixture of annoyance and embarrassment.

"It's more convenient," Matsuri smiled back, "And luckily it seems we're not the only ones who think that way."

Everyone followed her gaze to the Fire Country residents. Sasuke ignored the stares and Sakura blushed lightly.

"I've been forced to share rooms with Neji before." Tenten replied, sensing Sakura's discomfort.

"Hinata had to sleep with me last night!" Naruto stated loudly as Hinata almost fainted and everyone else gave him wide, questioning stares except Neji who was giving him a murderous look. "I meant we had to share a room." Naruto finished as he caught on and blushed at his previous statement.

Now it was Ino's turn to blush, realizing her prince was the only one who found it weird.

"Anyway," Matsuri continued, "I'm glad you have all returned safely. I'm afraid I'm out of place asking this, but might we know what wasn't to your liking to make you leave?"

"Your scorching floors…" Ino mumbled.

"Gaara's attitude…" Naruto muttered, causing Gaara to glare at him.

"That isn't your business" Sasuke snapped, causing Gaara to shift his glare to him.

"It wasn't your fault." Sakura assured quickly after.

"I-it was ours" Hinata stuttered.

"It was all just a misunderstanding between us, but it's over now." Neji finished off, leaving no further room for discussion.

That was all the Sand Prince and maid needed though as they glanced between the last two to speak. It was obvious to Gaara which maid belonged to which prince by the order they were sitting. These two were obviously both Hyugas yet sat on separate sides of the table. Both Gaara and Matsuri had a rough idea on what the argument was about. They had both heard about the Hyuga castle and the rules that abided there, however it wasn't Matsuri's place to say anything and Gaara could care less about what happened within the other countries now that the treaties were signed.

"So you seem to have quite a few maids working here." Sakura replied.

"Yes, I would say we probably have more maids working here than any of your castles." Matsuri replied back.

"Really?" Sakura asked, "But what do they do? You can't have that many outside chores. I mean you don't even have a garden."

Matsuri just giggled at the naïve girl, "Not one outside, no, but I'd say our inside garden is probably larger than any of you have ever seen."

"Really?" this time it was Ino to speak, "Can we go see it?!" Both Hinata and Sakura nodded in agreement.

"Sure" Matsuri smiled, "I'll show you all there after dinner."

Everyone was finished within the next couple of minutes and followed the Sand residents out. Neji and Tenten were the last to leave.

"The gardens?" Tenten groaned. What could be more boring than the gardens? Neji sensed his maid's resistance and warned her like how he had been doing a lot lately.

"Tenten"

"Yeah, yeah, I know" was all the girl grumbled before they followed the others.

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><p>"This isn't a garden! It's a jungle!" Sakura exclaimed as they all stepped into the underground garden.<p>

"Th-this is amazing" Hinata stuttered out in awe.

"You even have a map?" Tenten questioned as she walked up to a board with a piece of parchment attached to it.

"Yes, well the garden is fairly large and visitors can get lost easily."

"How do you get the plants to grow? The days here are so hot and the nights are so cold. Few plants can survive such harsh conditions." Ino stated as she went to touch a nearby flower.

"We're aware of that and that's why the garden was placed underground. The desert's scorching days or freezing nights can't harm it down here. The temperature will stay the same. As for the rest of the growing process, it's fairly complicated and would take much time explaining."

"I see" Ino answered back before looking over to the map that the other three girls and blonde prince were examining.

"Look Hinata! They have an underground pond!"

"It's called a Koi pond dobe." Sasuke stated, "It has Koi fish and you can't go swimming in it."

"I know that!" Naruto retorted back childishly, "Still, let's go there Hinata!" Naruto took the shy girl by the arm and started dragging her away as Sakura called after them, "We'll come too!"

Ino wheeled up to the board just as the brunette girl smirked and started walking in the opposite direction, giving the Wind Prince no choice but to follow her.

Shikamaru walked up behind Ino and sighed.

"You find anything you like?"

Ino just sighed back dreamily, "I wish I could see it all."

"Well then let's just start walking."

"What?" Ino looked up to Shikamaru who muttered a quick 'troublesome' before continuing.

"If you want to see everything, there's no point in even looking at the map. Let's just choose a path and see where it takes us."

Ino didn't even have to think about it before nodding her head in agreement. They took a path that no one else had taken, but stopped a few feet in to glance back at the Sand Prince and his maid.

"Are you coming?" Ino asked and Matsuri shook her head.

"Gaara still has some business to attend to, so I'll be going with him. Please feel free to spend as much time down here as you like. It is the coolest place in the castle."

With that said the two left, leaving the two Earth residents to continue on.

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><p>"Woah! Look at all the fishies!" Naruto cooed as the four teens finally made it to the pond. He immediately ran to the little bridge, crossing over the pond and laid flat on his stomach, reaching down to the water. His finger tips barely grazed the surface as he called to the fish below him.<p>

"Here fishy, fishy, fishy!"

"They're not cats' dobe." Sasuke scowled as he took a seat under a nearby tree. Sakura went to look through the flowers nearby and Hinata kneeled down by the water's edge. She gracefully dipped a finger into the water and drew little patterns, drawing in the nearby Koi. Naruto saw where the fish were headed and stood up, running over to the Hyuga heiress.

"That's so cool! I want to touch the fishies too!"

However; as soon as he squatted down next to the girl, the fish scattered away, causing him to pout and Hinata to shyly smile back.

She boldly took hold of his hand, which dangled and rested on the ground, guiding it to the waters edge. She guided his wrist, letting his fingers skim the water like she had previously done. Slowly, the Koi came back and Naruto watched in awe, only glancing over once to grin back at the blushing girl.

"No way!" Sakura shouted, as the fish once again scattered at the noise. Naruto was the first to reach the girl as Hinata trailed shortly behind. Sasuke remained at the tree, settling for listening.

"Look at this"

Everyone, minus Sasuke, stared down at the beautiful flower Sakura was pointing to.

"It's… uh… very pretty…" Naruto stated carefully, not wanting to offend the girl, but confused as to her obvious fascination with a mere flower. Hinata could see the hidden reason and cautiously asked back.

"W-what is it?"

Sakura tore her gaze away from the flower to smile at the Hyuga as if she had been waiting for someone to ask that.

"I don't remember exactly." She replied, as everyone stared at her curiously, "The original name of the flower is difficult to remember, but I do know that some call this the miracle flower."

"M-miracle flower?"

"Yes, I've heard this is really rare. It's extremely hard to find. I have only ever dreamed I would actually get to see one and yet here is a whole patch."

"Why is it called the miracle flower?" Naruto asked, finally catching up to speed.

"Again, I'm not entirely sure," Sakura answered back, "but it's said that it's like a breath of fresh air."

With that, Naruto leaned down to take a whiff.

"I guess it smells nice."

Sakura laughed lightly at the blonde, "I wasn't talking about the smell. From what I read it said that the flower is _literally_ a breath of fresh air."

"Could they be anymore vague?" Sasuke grumbled out from under the tree. Sakura glared at him in return.

"As I stated before, this is an extremely rare flower." Sakura snapped back at him, "Not many have had the time to really study it but my guess is someone realized something different about this flower. The only further information I got on it was that it contains some type of unknown chemical that enters your system. Of course, it's all just rumors, but some say the chemical has some sort of healing powers; others say the chemical allows you to absorb more oxygen through your skin."

"Well, I don't feel any different." Naruto stated in confusion.

"Of course not," Sakura snapped back, "You're not sick and you're loaded with a bunch of hot air already." Sakura laughed as Naruto shouted an aggravated 'Hey!' to her.

"Well, I haven't known you very long but it's true, right Hinata?"

The two arguing finally glanced over to the quiet girl who hadn't spoken in a while, only to find she wasn't listening. Instead she was staring down at the flower that everyone else had already taken their eyes off of as if she was waiting for something to happen.

"Hinata?" Naruto questioned, stepping forward and placing his hand on the girl's shoulder, snapping her out of her trance.

"What is it?" Sakura asked, seeing the confusion on the other girl's face.

Hinata just turned to Naruto and spoke.

"S-smell it again"

"What?" Sakura asked, but Naruto didn't need to be told twice. He had learned that Hinata wouldn't ask anything if she didn't have a reason. Naruto once again leaned over to smell the flower.

"N-now w-watch" Hinata quietly commanded as the other two obeyed her. It took a couple of seconds until the flower started to move on its own. It wasn't any drastic movement. In fact, it was hardly even noticeable, but it was there. The petals fluttered out a bit more, before contracting in and fluttering back out. It almost looked as if it had just… taken a breath.

"It looked like it was breathing." Sakura stated solemnly, not quite sure what to think.

"P-perhaps that is w-what the saying means." Hinata stuttered out, "A flower that can b-breathe on its own c-could be considered a miracle."

"Yeah, perhaps you're right." Sakura answered back a bit disappointed, "That would make more sense I guess." A few moments passed before Naruto spoke.

"I know that flower."

"What?"

"I know that flower." He repeated, "The flower that breathes; we had one once." The girls listened intently as the prince continued, "I had snuck out of the castle to go to town to get my mother a birthday gift. She had a cold and I wanted to get her something special; something that I had gotten on my own. Not something I had someone pick up for me. While in the market place I met this stranger. They gave me this plant; told me my mom would love it. They said to make sure she was the first one to smell it." Naruto's voice disappeared as he stared off, deep in thought.

"Do you think he knew your mother had a cold?" Sakura asked and Naruto just shrugged.

"I don't know"

"He said to h-have your mother t-try it first… Maybe h-he knew something we d-don't." Hinata stated, "Maybe the flower only w-works once."

"I don't know" Naruto stated again, "All I know is that it must not have worked that time. The cold never got any better. My mom never got out of bed and the illness she had slowly consumed her and not much longer, she died." The girls too, stared at the ground with downcast expressions.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Sakura finally stated, looking back up at the prince who had a sheepish grin obviously forced on.

"It's fine! It was a long time ago! What really sucked was shortly after; my dad came down with the same illness. The doctors said he probably caught it from all the time he spent with mom. They said I was very lucky that I didn't catch it too. The flower must've died or something because I never saw it again."

"That's impossible" Sakura replied causing the blonde to look over at her, "I read somewhere that these flowers are extremely hard to grow but equally as hard to get rid of."

"What?"

"I mean you could probably kill it with strength, but by simply not taking care of its needs. That won't kill it." Naruto thought a moment before replying.

"Well perhaps it was too painful for my dad to look at and he got rid of it. That wouldn't be too hard to believe. I mean he was really crushed when mom died."

"Perhaps" Sakura answered, not quite sure what to say. Once again she had met another person who had both parents ripped away from them and even though she too had them ripped away from her, her parents were still alive. She was going to see them again. She broke out of her thoughts as Naruto spoke again.

"I know they weren't murdered or anything, but it still hurt to lose them you know."

"At least you had time to say goodbye."

Everyone glanced up at the forgotten prince under the tree who was now standing up, leaning against the trunk and glaring at them.

"Sasuke!" Sakura snapped, "That's completely unfair to say and you know it."

What had gotten into him! Not even a week ago he had been feeling bad about taking all the maids away from their families, feeling bad about the pain he had caused them, yet here he was in front of someone who had lost his family for good and he was saying how the pain couldn't even compare.

"Whether they are taken away slowly or quickly, the loss of a loved one still hurts the same! You may not have gotten to say goodbye, but he had to watch them die, knowing there was nothing he could do!" As soon as she said it, a hand went to cover her mouth as she turned to the Water Prince. She had been so caught up in the argument that she had forgotten he was there and said something completely insensitive, probably bringing back unwanted past memories. Naruto however, just smiled back sadly at her. He knew she was only trying to help.

Sakura turned back around to come face to face with Sasuke. He had moved silently, ending up standing right in front of the pink haired girl.

"And what would you know of that. Your parents aren't dead. Thanks to me, your parents are doing better than they probably ever have. Mine might have died right away, but I still felt as if there was nothing I could've done. So quit acting like you know everything!" Sasuke was speaking with such aggression that Sakura was taking steps back to distance them as he kept marching forward. Once he finished talking Sakura tripped backwards as her foot led her to the edge of the shallow pond. She landed with a splash in the water and in the blink of an eye Naruto and Hinata were there helping her up. She glared back at Sasuke intensely as she was pulled back up by the other teens.

"If you don't remember correctly, my mother was really sick when you got there. She had been sick for years! She was getting worse all the time. I didn't know what to do! I _was _watching her die for years!" the girl was fuming as she screamed at the Fire Prince, "What has gotten into you?! You're being selfish and cold-hearted!"

"And you're being a crybaby and quite annoying."

Sakura was going to retort back that she wasn't crying, as she realized her cheeks were slightly wet.

Sasuke turned away and continued walking across the bridge and down the path on the other side of the Koi pond. Silence filled the air before Naruto broke it.

"Don't take it too harshly Sakura. That's just Sasuke being Sasuke."

"How can you say that?" Sakura asked exasperatedly as she turned to him, "What he said to you was horrible."

"I don't mind." Naruto smiled back, "I know what it's like to lose your parents. Sometimes I even wonder if anyone could hurt as much as I do. As you said before, I couldn't do anything as I watched them weaken day after day and some might think that's worse, but the truth is I was left with something Sasuke wasn't. My parents knew things weren't going good. They knew their time was coming so they left me with kind words. Sasuke's parents thought they would be returning." Sakura listened as the blonde prince continued to speak, "Before mom died, she told me 'she loved me and to always be happy.' Before my dad died, he said to 'stay strong and that he loved me too.' Sasuke's dad said to 'behave' and his mom said to 'listen to his brother while they were away.' When Sasuke went to check and see how Itachi's fever was doing, he said 'he would be fine by tomorrow and that Sasuke should go to bed.' Itachi knew he was leaving and yet those were the words he chose to leave Sasuke with. I too have lost my loved ones but I was left with loving and encouraging words. Sasuke was left with orders; behave, listen, go to bed."

Naruto finished talking and Sakura glanced down the path Sasuke took. Sure, she had already heard what had happened to his family, but just listening to Naruto made her realize she didn't even know half of it. Many dark memories clouded the Fire Prince's mind that Sakura knew she couldn't even begin to comprehend.

"I better go look for him." She replied starting to walk off before Naruto stopped her.

"Sakura, I don't know if that's the best idea. Sasuke's past isn't the only thing haunting him right now. He's had a pretty bad day. Hinata told me you were only trying to help her escape but Sasuke already has some abandonment issues."

"Which is why I must go look for him. I can't leave him on his own right now." Sakura continued walking down the path until Naruto called out to her loudly.

"Didn't you ever wonder why he created that new mailing system?"

"How did you…"

"Hinata was telling me about it during dinner. She said you told her on the way to the town. Did you ever wonder why he created it?"

Sakura thought a moment before replying, "He felt bad for what he did. He was trying to fix his wrong doings."

"That's true," Naruto confirmed, "but did you ever wonder why he did the things he did?"

"What do you me…"

"Hinata told me that she mentioned to you about my actions to correct my wrong doings. I sent anyone home who wished to go back. I gave them that option… Sasuke didn't. Sasuke will send families to come visit but won't let anyone go, right?"

Naruto was right. Sasuke's new system didn't let anyone leave; it just let other's come visit.

"He's not doing it to be cruel, but subconsciously he wants to fix his wrong doing but not lose anyone in the process. Even if he doesn't know you, he has a hard time losing anyone. Once they work there, they aren't allowed to leave. Ask anyone who works there. The only person allowed to leave the castle for errands is the head maid, Yuka, because he's known her for so long and she never left even when all others had."

"So what…"

"Huh?" Naruto glanced over at the girl who was visibly shaking. Her hands clenched in fists and her hair covered her face as she glanced down towards the ground.

"So what if Sasuke won't let anyone leave. He only does it so he won't ever have to be alone. Not going after him won't help his abandonment issues. He's got to learn that there aren't just two types of people in this world. There are those that will leave, and those that will stay, but more importantly, there will be those that will follow." With that said she ran off before Naruto could say another word.

* * *

><p>"We're here!" Tenten exclaimed happily as she finally reached her destination.<p>

"Why am I not surprised." Neji stated as he looked around, "The cactus section? I was wondering what could've excited you when earlier it sounded as if there was nothing more boring than a trip to the gardens. Yet here we stand, in the midst of what has to be the most unattractive plant there is."

"Shh!" Tenten snapped back, catching Neji off guard, "These aren't plants, they're friends."

Neji smirked at Tenten's joke, not necessarily from the humor, but from the sound of her voice that proved she was being somewhat serious. Tenten went over to a cactus and pulled out some needles before throwing one at a pink flower. It sliced through the stem and Tenten went to pick up the cut flower, tying the short stem around another needle and walking back up to the Wind Prince.

"For you my lord" She lightly mocked as she stuck the needle through the material of his shirt, near his chest. He just stared at her bandaged arms.

"I'm sorry for what I did earlier."

Tenten glanced up at him curiously before realizing what he meant.

"You're still sulking about that? It's fine, really. I know you weren't thinking straight."

Even though they were words of encouragement, they didn't seem to help brighten the prince's mood.

"I'm really proud of you actually." Tenten continued and it was now time for Neji to look up in curiosity, "About Hinata and all. I think you made the right choice." Silence filled the air for a moment before Neji spoke.

"I don't get how she could change so much. She's not the girl I once knew."

"Well, surviving on your own isn't easy. You have to learn to be tough if you want to make it."

"You speak as if you talk from experience." Tenten smirked at this and turned to Neji.

"There's no way I can relate to that girl. I'm not some runaway royalty and I still lived with my parents and younger sister, but I know a thing or two about having to toughen up."

Neji could tell that was the end of that conversation as Tenten turned away to throw another needle at a tree with peeling bark. Neji walked up to the girl and stole a needle before going back to another pink flower, pulling on it gently and swiftly cutting the stem.

"What are you doing?"

Neji just smirked and simply stated, "If I have to wear a flower, so must you."

The girl took the flower skeptically as he handed it to her.

"And where exactly am I supposed to put it?"

Neji thought a moment before taking the flower back and placing it up near one of the buns on her head.

"That should do" he stated before smirking and walking off to find a more interesting section of the garden.

* * *

><p>"Take a right! No make a left! Ooo… look at that!"<p>

Shikamaru sighed. He should've known this would happen. Being in the wheelchair, Ino couldn't just lead the way so instead she was barking orders and directions for Shikamaru to follow.

"Stop!"

Shikamaru did as he was told and went to sit down as soon as Ino informed him they were resting there for a bit. Shikamaru looked around at the array of colors around them. Ino had stopped them at what had to be the most colorful part of the garden. It literally looked as if a rainbow had exploded.

"This is the most beautiful garden I've ever seen!"

"So does that mean you'll be staying here then?"

Ino glanced at the prince who just spoke and smiled mischievously.

"Well, there are not as many clouds here, but I do hear that desserts have the most beautiful starry nights… but I think I like the company better at the Earth Castle."

Shikamaru smirked back, until a thought filled the girl's head, causing her smile to falter.

"No one else found it weird to share rooms earlier."

Shikamaru looked curiously at the downcast girl.

"So?"

"All the others didn't think anything of it. The Fire Prince was even going to accept the request and all of them have already spent the nights with their maids."

Shikamaru was once again puzzled by what this girl was saying which wasn't entirely surprising to him by now.

"S-so did you want me to accept the request too?" Shikamaru asked slowly and awkwardly as a light blush rose to his cheeks.

"Oh God no!" Ino shouted, madly blushing back, "I was just wondering… thinking… curious… um…"

The blonde was stumbling for the right words but luckily Shikamaru understood perfectly.

"Well I knew you'd feel awkward, so of course I declined."

A moment of silence passed before Ino spoke again.

"S-so if it wasn't for me… I mean if I hadn't minded…" Again Ino was trying to find the right wording.

"Well, it would've saved space." Shikamaru stated back awkwardly. Of course he knew that was a lousy excuse but he just hoped she wouldn't see through it. He would never find out though, as the two fell into an awkward silence.

* * *

><p>"I-I'm sorry for running away…"<p>

"Huh?" Naruto glanced up at Hinata. Soon after Sakura left, Naruto went back to the pond to play with the fish. The two teens sat in silence for a while, just watching as Naruto repeated what Hinata had taught him earlier and drawing the fish back in. Naruto was completely thrown off by Hinata's abrupt apology.

"F-for earlier" she stated and the blonde prince turned away from her but still with a small smile gracing his features.

"It's okay; I don't blame you for keeping it a secret. The only thing I regret is that you couldn't be yourself in front of me."

"I-I'm s-sorry"

"Even now," Naruto continued, "Wouldn't it be easier to be yourself than put up that fake façade. It'll take some time, but I'll get used to it eventually."

"W-what?"

"The stuttering," Naruto answered, "You can quit now. Royalty doesn't stutter."

Hinata looked down sadly when Naruto stated this.

"R-right," she replied back, "My father always said that t-too."

"Huh?" This time it was Naruto who questioned the girl as she continued.

"I w-was never suitable for royalty according to him. Freedom and lack of c-confidence were both things a p-princess should never have. I was a failure even then."

Naruto listened as Hinata told her story. She herself could barely believe she was reliving the memories for the second time that day, but now that Naruto knew the truth, she couldn't hold back anymore… she didn't want to.

"I was always lying about who I was b-back then; always acting ac-cordingly. I ran away s-so I didn't have to act anymore, b-but I still had to lie to make sure I never had to go back." Tears started to pour down her cheeks as she brought her knees to her chest and buried her face in her arms. "I'm s-so sorry Naruto," she hiccupped, "I d-didn't want to lie to you. I w-wanted to tell you b-but I couldn't… I just c-couldn't do it… I w-was so afra…"

Hinata was cut off as she was pulled into a warm embrace. Another moment of silence passed before Naruto spoke.

"I'm sorry Hinata. I didn't know." His voice was filled with remorse and a new found understanding as he continued, "I hadn't thought about it like that. You either had to lie to others or lie to yourself. I would've done the same."

Hinata finally returned the embrace and cried a bit louder but not all of her tears this time were caused from pain. Naruto was starting to understand her.

"Whether you're royalty or not," Naruto continued on, "Whether you stutter or don't, you're still Hinata and that's all I care about."

A smile crept across the girls tear stained face as they were still holding each other in an embrace. She closed her eyes and relished in the joyful feeling overtaking her.

* * *

><p>"It figures that I'd find you here"<p>

Sasuke didn't even bother glancing up at the voice who spoke.

"The emotionless prince, surrounded by the flowers of emotion"

Sasuke still didn't bother to look over as he continued to stare down at the black plant.

"You know that's not real." The girl stated, "They must've done something to it to change the color. There's no such thing as a_ true_ black rose."

Only silence filled the air.

"Fake or not though," the girl continued, "A black rose signifies farewells and loss. It's not surprising to see you sitting there."

"Shut up" the prince finally spoke, sending her a quick glare before returning it to the flower. His order kept her silent for only a few moments before she started walking towards him, picking some flowers as she went.

"Red is of love and beauty. In words it says 'I love you.' White is of purity and innocence and in words can be translated to 'I'm worthy of you.' Together, these two signify unity. Lavender is for love at first sight and enchantment while orange signifies fascination." As Sakura spoke of the color, she picked the flower, forming a tiny bouquet when she reached Sasuke.

"Here" she replied softly only to have them roughly slapped out of her hands, to the ground.

"Why won't you just leave me alone?" Sasuke growled, "You're annoying me. I don't care what the stupid rose colors mean and I care even less about anything you'd have to say."

Sakura stared back with a blank expression before bending down to pick up the spilt roses.

"I know you're hurt" she replied calmly.

"You don't know anything." Sasuke seethed back.

"Naruto told me more about what happened to you."

"Figures the dobe wouldn't know when to keep his mouth shut." Sasuke scoffed/growled.

"You know he was just trying to help." Sakura answered back calmly.

"With what?"

"He cares for you Sasuke." Sakura answered back, "And I know you care for him." Silence passed and Sasuke remained quiet and Sakura stood back up. "I know I've said this before, but you obviously don't believe me, so I'll say it again. I wasn't running away."

"Oh really?" Sasuke asked sarcastically.

"I don't care if you don't believe me," Sakura stated solemnly, "because I'll just keep saying it until you do. You will believe me eventually."

"Why's that?"

"Because I'm telling you the truth"

"And how am I supposed to believe that?" This time Sasuke still spoke with anger but laced with a bit of desperation, "How can I believe anything you say now?"

"Learn to trust me"

It was said so quietly, Sasuke wasn't sure if he had heard correctly, "What?"

Sakura paused for a moment as if debating what to say next.

"You know, from where I'm from, we heard very little of the royal family who ruled our kingdom. We were so close to the edge of the country that it was unnecessary to abide by any laws." She paused before continuing, "There was one thing that made it to our town though. It was a rumor of the heartless prince; the human ice cube."

Sasuke glared as the girl continued on, unfazed, "When I first met you. I thought the rumors were true. There was no way someone as cruel as you could have a heart. Then you gave me that letter from my dad and I realized how wrong I was. How wrong everyone was, and then I realized why. The thing is Sasuke, you've always had a heart, it's just really hard to see." Sasuke just rolled his eyes at the girls ramblings, "You're heart is there, but it's broken. No one ever pays attention to something that's broken. That's why it's hard to see. The only ones who do see it are those who want to fix it, like Naruto and…"

"And you?" Sasuke spat out with venom.

Sakura just ignored this and continued, "It may be broken Sasuke, but it can be fixed, and when it is, people will start seeing it again."

"How?" Sasuke asked, still in a bad mood, "A heart doesn't have any instructions. How do you fix something when you don't know how?"

"I don't know," Sakura answered truthfully, "but try fixing it bit by bit. Start with something you know needs fixing… like your trust in people."

Sasuke's mood wasn't really getting any better, but at least he was listening willingly now.

"I can't"

"You already have." The Fire Prince glanced up with slight curiosity, "Naruto knows details of some things only you would know. You obviously trust him and I have a good assumption that you trust Yuka too. That may only be two people, but that's a start."

"What did Naruto tell you?" Sasuke wasn't angry anymore as he asked this. He was just too exhausted from all that had happened that day. Sakura eyed him skeptically before stating anything. Finally she gave in.

"He told me of his parents and their parting words. Then he told me of yours and of how Yuka is the only one allowed to leave the castle grounds."

Just the mention of his families last words, brought back unwanted memories. Sasuke quickly squashed any emotions trying to rise, but Sakura noticed the silent turmoil.

"Showing emotion is a great sign of trust." She started and Sasuke just stared back blankly as he continued to push back any surfacing emotions.

"I can't" he replied again.

"Not yet" Sakura corrected him.

"Sakura..."

"You know," Sakura interrupted, "trust isn't just one sided. In order to receive trust, you must first give it." Sasuke watched as Sakura finally knelt down, in front of him. She gently raised his head so she was staring him straight in the eye.

"I don't know how you are going to learn to trust Sasuke," Sakura started off, "but I do know, it is very easy for me to give out my trust to almost anyone, so I'll start off by giving you something not just anyone can have."

Sasuke didn't exactly process what was happening as the girl leaned forward, her hand still resting softly on his cheek. He felt warmth press to his lips and registered that the girl was kissing him. He didn't respond however, but also did not pull away. Instead he settled for just closing his eyes as the girl's lips just pressed against his. It wasn't rough or soft, but just the simple gesture of touching lips and was soon over as the teens just stared into each other's eyes. Sasuke continued to stare emotionlessly back at her and after a minute, she started to feel heat rise to her cheeks in slight embarrassment. She covered it up quickly though as she stood up and plucked a couple more roses, handing them to him.

"Here" she smiled warmly and this time he reached out to take the pink and yellow rose. She turned around to leave, but just as she was almost out of earshot he called to her.

"What do these stand for?"

Sakura smirked to herself before replacing it with a smile and turning back around.

"Pink is appreciation and admiration and in words can mean 'Thank you' or 'please believe me.' Yellow stands for friendship and the promise of a new beginning. It can also mean 'I care.'"

With that said, Sakura left and Sasuke looked back down at the two flowers. The pink one was beautiful and matched Sakura's hair, but he was more fascinated by the yellow one; not just by the meaning, but by the way the yellow petals were tipped with a beautiful red.

* * *

><p>"Wow… What were you allowed to do?"<p>

Hinata had just finished telling Naruto her life story and amazingly without something distracting him, "Could you at least train or do something strenuous?!"

Hinata shook her head in reply, "A princess must always stay out of harms way. It's improper to learn t-to fight."

"That would've driven me insane! What would've happened if you were attacked and the enemy took out all your guards? Are you just supposed to let them capture you?!"

Hinata thought for a minute before replying, "I-I think so?"

"You think so?" Naruto stated slowly, incredibly confused by now.

"B-but I have read books on attack and defense." Hinata abruptly continued, "I c-can't say I'm really good at either of them since I never got to practice b-but I did read a book or two about pressure points."

"Cool" Naruto stated, "Practice on me then!"

"W-what?" Hinata gasped as Naruto grinned and stood up.

"Come on Hinata! It'll be fun! Just try out a few pressure points."

"B-but I wouldn't know which ones…"

"Surprise me!" Naruto stated enthusiastically, "Here, I'll attack and you just hit some points."

"N-Naruto, I don't think this is a good ide…"

"Nonsense! It'll be fine! Ready?"

"N-Naruto?"

"Set"

"I d-don't think…"

"Attack!"

The second after Naruto let out his battle cry he collapsed to the ground.

"N-Naruto! Are you alright?"

"Woah… Awesome Hinata! I can't feel my arm or my leg!"

Hinata knelt down beside Naruto to help his limp form sit up.

"I'm s-so sorry" she stuttered out as he grinned back up at her.

"Don't be! That was sweet! Know any others?"

"I know of one up in your n-neck that is supposed to knock you out, b-but it's really close to another one that will cut off your oxygen supply… Would you like to see?"

Naruto chuckled nervously, "I think that one should wait to be tested on the bad guys."

Hinata nodded in agreement and after a moment Naruto spoke again.

"I know of a pressure point in your neck too. Although I don't really think it's a pressure point." Naruto laughed before continuing, "It's a spot that you press and it forces you to swallow. My mom used to use it on me when I wouldn't eat my vegetables. It's actually quite funny because the maids and guards always saw my mom strangling me and my dad watching as if it was normal… which it was." Naruto laughed again, "It doesn't matter how hard I tried to not swallow. I bet a person could be barely breathing and that spot would still work."

"You sure have a lot of good memories of your parents."

"Don't you?"

The shy Hyuga just shook her head in response and silence surrounded them once again.

"Well then I'm glad you ran away." Hinata looked back at the boy as he continued, "It might be selfish, but I'm glad you ran away; for if you hadn't, I never would have met you."

Hinata smiled and looked to the ground in slight embarrassment, and for the first time she was truly thankful to herself for having enough courage to leave her home, where she was trapped and never would've been able to meet this blonde in front of her.

* * *

><p><strong>That's it for now! Extra long chapter! Sorry for the extremely long wait…<strong>

**And for all those Curious Rose Lovers out there… I just want to explain to those who do not already know… "Yellow Roses with Red tipped petals stands for 'Falling in Love'" *And no, Sakura didn't notice this when she handed it to Sasuke… She just thought it was a yellow rose***

**Anyways thanks for the reviews so far… please continue with the kindness… =)**


	21. Chapter 21

**Back Again… I know it's been a really long time and I'm extremely sorry… haha… college is a killer… Plus I had a surgery that I needed to heal from… =)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

* * *

><p><strong>My Prince Charming<strong>

**Chapter 20**

* * *

><p>"And then I turned into a fox again! I'm telling you it's a sign!"<p>

"This doesn't sound like a dream dobe. It sounds like a hallucination."

"What have you been eating?" Neji asked

"Nothing! Well I mean I had dinner and breakfast…"

"What would the sign even be dobe? That you're going to turn into a fox?"

"Perhaps it means Naruto fits in more with animals, than people." Sasuke smirked at Neji's comment.

"Hey, I'm serious guys. Maybe the fox is like my animal spirit guide."

"We see desert foxes around here all the time." Matsuri piped in.

"Aren't animal spirit guides supposed to be like their person?" Gaara finally spoke.

"Yes," Shikamaru joined in, "And foxes are known for being sly and clever."

"Can't be dobe then"

"Perhaps the spirit guides felt pity for Naruto, and decided to give him a guide that could actually help him in life." Neji stated matter of factly, "My guess would be that any spirit guide that shared the same traits as Naruto would only kill him sooner."

"Hey!"

"I bet you dobe's spirit guide is one of those laughing hyenas; loud, annoying, obnoxious, and useless all at the same time."

"Hey!" Naruto screamed again. He paused before continuing, "Actually, this isn't really surprising behavior coming from teme and all, but Neji, you're sure being mean today."

"Just remember, I won't be this nice if I find anything bad ever happens to my cousin."

Naruto gulped at this, even though it wasn't at the threat. In fact, Neji's tone of voice didn't sound threatening at all…and that is what scared him. He'd known Neji long enough to know Neji was a very menacing person and when one couldn't hear the menacing tone; that was the time to truly be afraid.

"Here they come" Shikamaru stated, pulling everyone's gaze over to the entryway where the other four maids had just entered. Everyone agreed to meet at the dining hall in the mornings and the boys had been waiting for the girls to get there.

Shikamaru stood up to go get Ino who was currently being pushed by Tenten.

"I'm starving" Tenten stated before grabbing her tray from one of Hinata's hands and sitting down beside Neji, "So what's happening today?

"Well, Ino obviously can't walk so we'll have to take it easy again." Shikamaru replied causing Tenten to groan.

"We can train" Naruto stated as Tenten's eyes flickered with interest. The other boys simply nodded in agreement.

"Awesome!" Tenten shouted before Neji turned to her.

"You will be watching with the other girls."

"What!? No way! And what are we supposed to do? Just sit back and spill our life stories?"

"Tenten" Neji warned

"You can't be serious!"

"You're the one who put Ino in that state."

"Actually, I don't mind if she wants to train," Ino spoke up, "Even if I had the use of my feet, I wouldn't be training."

"No, she must atone for her crimes." Neji stated back coldly.

"What are you? A prison guard! I pulled a prank, I didn't murder anyone!" Tenten was furious, "but I think I'm about to."

"If she wants to train, I could stay with Ino." Shikamaru replied, "I don't really feel like training today anyway. Perhaps you can teach her something."

Before Neji could protest, the blonde across from him exploded.

"Cool! I can teach Hinata stuff too! And then teme can teach Sakura stuff!"

The Fire residents looked up at each other at this and quickly broke their gaze.

"I guess it couldn't hurt." Sasuke mumbled quietly.

"Well I hate to say it but Gaara has more work to do," Matsuri broke in, "So I'm afraid we won't be joining you guys, but it really is a shame. I was really hoping I'd get to hear your story."

Everyone turned to the brunette who looked up from her meal curiously.

"Mine?" Tenten asked.

"Yes"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't be silly," Matsuri answered with a smile, "I know you must have some kind of story. I can see by the way you act. You are way less careful with your actions and words than I am and I know for a fact, the Hyuga's maid standards are way more strict."

"Actually, I was wondering that too." Sakura stated, "You seem so strong, I was wondering how some guards could have caught you so easily."

"Hey, it wasn't easy okay!" Tenten snapped back, "They had a lot of trouble catching me!"

"But they obviously succeeded," Matsuri replied back calmly, causing Tenten to grind her jaw in frustration; obviously sensitive about this topic, "so how did they catch you? Were you distracted? Did you trip?"

"I didn't trip!"

"So you _were_ distracted then" Tenten just looked away with an angry scowl as Matsuri continued, "By what?"

"Was it family?" Sakura questioned, joining in on the interrogation.

"Was it friends?" Ino asked, now also curious.

"Did someone die?" Matsuri spoke again.

"No one died!" Tenten finally snapped, "I have my family! I have a mom, a dad; even a younger sister and they're all alive and healthy…" Tenten paused as if to try to calm down, but it didn't seem it was working, "And I haven't lost them!"

Everyone else just stared back in shock at the girl's fury. The only ones that seemed unfazed were the two Sand residents.

"Then what exactly did you lose?"

"Nothing," Tenten ground out obviously annoyed, "I haven't lost anything. My sister is seventeen and she was captured, so I caused a scene big enough to distract the guards while she could escape. I had everyone after me but was still so distracted at my sister's escape that I hadn't really thought of my own. Happy now?"

Matsuri just smiled back, "I was never angry… just curious. You're missing something. I can see it in your eyes. Your eyes are ones that have lost something. Even she has it, but is much better at hiding it than you all."

This time everyone's eyes went to the blonde in the wheel chair before Tenten snapped back, "Quit prying into other people's business where you don't belong!"

Gaara glared at Tenten while Matsuri just nodded her head in understanding.

"You're right, I apologize. Sometimes my curiosity does send me a bit overboard, so I will take my leave now." Matsuri had already started walking away when Gaara turned to the Wind Prince.

"I guess since you are here I won't have to send back my response to the letter I just received." Everyone looked up at the Sand Prince questioningly as he continued, "I have business to attend to so I won't be able to make it to your banquet."

Neji only nodded in response and Gaara left. Naruto then leaned over to Sasuke to whisper in his ear.

"I didn't know Neji was having a banquet?"

"That's because our invitations are probably sent to our castle's dobe."

"Actually, it looks like Neji didn't know much about this banquet either." Shikamaru put in.

Neji, however, wasn't as fazed by this surprise banquet due to his thoughts still resting on the previous conversation.

"Tenten"

Just saying her name caused everyone to revert their gazes back to her.

"What?" she asked defensively. She didn't receive an answer however. Not that she needed to. She knew exactly what Neji wanted to hear; what everyone wanted to hear. She looked away in shame.

"A few years back, we lost our home. We were never the richest family. Once dad lost his job and no one else seemed to be hiring, we had no choice but to move out eventually…" Tenten glanced up to see everyone's eyes on her and immediately turned defensive again, sending a glare to the Wind Prince, "But we were fine! We were healthy. It didn't matter that there was no roof over our heads, and we had to sleep on the ground, because we had each other and we were happy!" Her glare shifted to each person and landed on Sakura who was smiling back, as if in admiration.

"We weren't the richest family either." She said comfortingly, "We still had our home, but every day was a challenge. We had our own crops; growing vegetables and fruits to eat and herbs for medicine for my mom because we couldn't afford a real doctor. I didn't know much of medicine, so I would take different herbs and mix them together. I'd try them out myself and if I didn't get sick, I'd give it to my mom to see if it would help. During my free time, I would help my dad with all the chores. It would've been nice to have another sibling to help me out but I was still happy…with my family." Sakura paused a moment and Tenten smiled back softly at her, "And if I could've traded my home for my parents health I would've without a doubt."

Tenten realized now why Matsuri didn't say anything about Sakura having a dark past. It was obvious Hinata was a Hyuga, which made it known she had troubles of her own, that were quite hard to hide, and Sakura didn't hide her troubles. She stated them without embarrassment or shame. Tenten however; was ashamed of her background and hid it from others. That's why Matsuri pointed it out. Now realizing she wasn't the only one who was called out in front of everyone, Tenten turned to the blonde.

"What exactly are you hiding so well then?"

Ino's eyes widened as all attention was turned on her and then laughed lightly.

"Nothing!" Everyone only stared back, obviously not believing her, so she continued, "Look, when I was captured, I had a family and a house. I was never struggling for food. I was just your everyday normal girl. Whatever that girl was talking about was nonsense. Maybe she just wanted you to spill the beans, making it seem like there was someone who had it worse."

Everyone thought of the possibility, realizing it wouldn't be that unbelievable considering how persistent Matsuri was being earlier. Only two people saw through it now that they were paying careful attention to the girl as she spoke. Shikamaru saw it in her eyes; that flicker of doubt, while Hinata heard it in her words. The Hyuga knew what it was like to have a house, but not a home and a family even though it wasn't hers.

* * *

><p><strong>With the Wind Residents<strong>

"Where do you think you're going?"

Tenten stopped and turned back to Neji who eyed her with his arms crossed.

"To look for the kunai and shuriken"

After breakfast, everyone was led to a huge indoor training room. Again it was underground which made them all wonder how much of the Sand castle was buried.

"You'll just get lost" Neji stated causing Tenten to glare back.

"Well then what exactly am I supposed to do?"

Neji thought a moment before giving a quiet sigh, "I guess I could teach you a thing or two."

Tenten just gave him an uninterested groan, "You mean in the way of the fairy fists?"

"Gentle fist" Neji corrected in irritation.

"What's the difference?" Neji scowled at Tenten who sighed once more before stating, "I think I'll stick to my weapon training. I don't feel like playing games."

"Games?" Neji gritted out through his teeth, "That's ironic coming from you; being as throwing knives is just one step up from playing darts."

Tenten twitched at this insult before snapping back, "Oh yeah? Well even darts would be more dangerous than your wild game of patty-cake."

Neji fumed at this, _'Patty-cake!? That stupid hand game little girls would play? How dare she insult him like that?'_

The glaring intensified and lasted a few more minutes before Neji turned away, still fuming.

"Just go get your weapons…"

* * *

><p><strong>With the Fire Residents<strong>

"How exactly are you supposed to wield this?" Sakura asked as Sasuke handed her a katana, "Give me a shovel any day and I can probably do some damage but this thing is so thin. Aha!"

Sasuke jumped to the side as the sword came down right next to him.

"You idiot!" he hissed, "That's not some toy! It's sharp."

"Lighten up some" Sakura laughed back, once again pointing the sword at the Fire prince as he glared back with malice.

The next thing Sakura knew, her sword landed on the floor with a loud clang and Sasuke had his katana just millimeters from her neck. Her eyes widened in shock as the prince stared back at her completely serious.

"I said this is not a toy." he seethed, dragging the side of the Katana down her arm as she shivered and glanced down at it before something caught her eye. Strands of pink scattered on the floor.

"My hair!" she yelled, immediately reaching up out of instinct. She let out a yelp as the sharp blade cut her arm bandages easily and sliced into her skin.

"You idiot" Sasuke shouted again as the girl grasped her bleeding arm. Of course he couldn't say much more, being that it was partly his fault for trying to prove a point.

He then dropped his sword and grabbed her good arm, dragging her along.

"Let's go get you some new bandages."

* * *

><p><strong>With the Water Residents<strong>

"Okay Hinata, the most important thing when fighting is balance. You have to have a strong stance so you don't fall over." Naruto explained, moving his feet around into different stances as the shy girl mimicked his movements, "This here is one of the strongest stances. Come try to push me over. Give me everything you got."

Hinata, not quite sure, walked over and gave a gentle nudge. Apparently that was all it took as the blonde fell backwards. Naruto scratched the back of his head and laughed sheepishly.

"Well that was an example of what you're not supposed to do. This time I'll get into a correct stance, so try it again."

Within the next few seconds Naruto was back on the ground as Hinata apologized and helped him up.

"Well, it's not as easy as it looks. How about you give it a try now?"

Hinata did as she was told; dragging her legs apart until the front leg faced forward and her back leg was turned at a forty-five degree angle. She then bent her legs for a more solid stance and nodded her head at the blonde to confirm she was ready. He then walked over and gave her a slight nudge. When that didn't work, he put a little more force into it. Within the next minute he had both hands placed on the girl's shoulders as he tried pushing with all his weight.

Hinata was blushing at their close proximity and glanced around to see if anyone was watching. Her eyes widened as she saw her cousin glancing over with an amused expression. At first she thought he would be angry but then she realized it wasn't 'them' that amused him. It was Naruto. Naruto who had been training for years couldn't push over her who had just started. Hinata felt sympathetic and not wanting the blonde to look uncool in front of his friends, turned her back leg forward, loosening her stance causing the blonde to overpower her and both to go tumbling down. Naruto quickly sat back up and gave a quick sigh.

"Whew! See Hinata, it's tougher than it looks. Your stance still wasn't strong enough even if it's pretty good for a beginner. Don't worry though; I'm sure you'll get it someday."

Hinata just nodded back shyly as she glanced back up at her cousin who was now glaring at her. That seemed more like the Neji she knew.

* * *

><p><strong>With the Earth Residents<strong>

"Sorry you can't train because of me."

"It's fine. I only train when we're together so that there's an even number. I'm more of a strategist anyway."

Shikamaru glanced up at the blonde sitting in her chair as he was seated on the ground. He sighed at her downcast expression.

"Actually there was something I was wondering about."

"What's that?" the blonde glanced down at the brunette in question.

"Earlier today at breakfast"

"What about it?"

Shikamaru stared at Ino with slight annoyance.

"You know what I'm talking about. This morning, when Matsuri singled you out."

"I already said it was nothing."

"Yeah," Shikamaru confirmed, "That _is_ what you said. Now I want to hear what you didn't say. You know, maybe the truth."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Ino glared before looking away defiantly.

"I know. Conveniently, you never know what I'm talking about whenever you're uncomfortable or you have something to hide!" Ino stared back at Shikamaru in shock that he raised his voice at her. Once he saw her look of surprise, he took a deep breath to calm down again.

"I know you wanted to try and impress the other maids here and congratulations, I think you're doing fine at that, but you don't need to impress me. I know what you're like. I've accepted who you are so why do you still feel that I shouldn't know the things that made you into the person you are today?"

"Because I don't know what those things are!" The blonde snapped and glared down fiercely at the Earth prince, "How can you say you know who I am when I'm not even sure I know myself! My parents left me at a very young age."

Shikamaru was at a loss for words, but sensing that Ino had finished what she was saying, he managed to ask, "Why?"

"I don't know," her voice was no longer harsh, but filled with confusion, "Perhaps they didn't want me. Perhaps they couldn't afford me. Perhaps they were in trouble. I don't know. I was only five. I don't know what they did and I don't have any memories of them now. I just remember their faces. I look more like my father."

Shikamaru listened as the girl spoke of her loss. As smart as he may be, out of all of the princes, he understood the least of loss. Everyone else had lost parents. Even Neji had lost his father when an assassin had mistaken Hizashi for his twin, Hiashi. Shikamaru was brought out of his thoughts when something Ino had previously said caught up to him.

"You said you were five when they left? Then…what happened to you?"

"I was dropped off at my parent's friend's house. They took me in." Ino paused a moment as Shikamaru took everything in, "I don't know myself so how can you know who I am? I lost who I was at five years old. I've forgotten everything. I loved the people I lived with, but I was different. They all had a connection with each other that I would never have. I could sense it at reunions or at the dinner table. I just didn't belong there." Ino stopped to glance at Shikamaru with teary eyes, "I was never bullied. I had a great family, a decent house and a bunch of friends, but I always felt so lost in the world. I didn't have a clue of who I was or who I was supposed to be. I didn't have a clue about my parents or even a reason to why they left. I still don't. I could never bring myself to ask my other family the reason to my parent's departure. At first, I thought I just didn't want to sound ungrateful, but I found out later that the real reason I never asked was that I was afraid of hearing the answer. What if I didn't like it? What if they were as clueless as me?"

Shikamaru opened his mouth to answer back but the blonde continued.

"I left the house when I turned fifteen. I didn't want to always rely on them to take care of me. They had wasted so much energy and time on me and I wasn't even theirs. People always say the things that make you who you are is your family, your home, your personality and your looks. Since I didn't have a family or a home and I really didn't want people defining me for my personality, I relied on my looks, but beauty is only skin deep. Although it defined who I was to others, it still left me in the dark."

After a moment of silence, Shikamaru had realized Ino was done, allowing him to finally speak.

"You left at fifteen. I almost feel bad for them. Look over the people in this room Ino." Ino, in confusion did as she was told, "What do you see? I see six other normal people and after this morning I know that every single one of them have problems to deal with. You want to know who must be hurting the worst right now." Ino glanced down at Shikamaru as he surveyed the room before continuing, "I don't think I'll ever be able to answer that. Everyone has problems and sometimes a lesser problem can hurt more depending on how a person deals with it. Even if there was one person who was hurting the most, there will always be some moments where their pain will lessen and someone else's will increase. Everyone deals with loss differently too. Naruto compensates with humor, Neji busies himself to the point where he doesn't have the time to stop and think about it. Sasuke just cuts off his ability to feel anything, and you compensate by trying to perfect what's left behind. I don't know the feeling of losing someone precious. In fact I'm probably the only one in this room who can say if I could change anything in this world, I would leave it as it is, and even though I stand alone in this department, I can still feel the connection to all the guys in this room. Even though they know the pain of loss and we aren't blood related, I can still feel the connection between us. When you said there are some things that define who you are you left out friends of which you said you had many." Ino stared down in shock at the prince who didn't even stop to think about what to say as he continued, "I know who you are and I know that although you are beautiful on the outside, there's much more to you on the inside. You are caring and secretly self-conscious. You are opinionated and extremely loud, but most of all, you are lost in the dark and searching for the light. You're looking for the stars that you told me appear in the darkness. Those rays of light to give you hope."

Ino started tearing up again as she remember the night they stargazed and the words she had said to him as he continued, "There are many stars every night and even during the day. Why not let your many friends become your stars. Let them surround you and help you out until you find who you are. Let them light the darkness for you until you can do it on your own."

* * *

><p><strong>With the Wind Residents<strong>

"Haha! Perfect aim! Beat that!" Tenten bragged and Neji smirked at her foolishness.

"How did you get such good aim? I mean even amongst the commoners, it's unusual for a woman to wield weapons is it not?"

"Yeah, well we weren't your average family. We lived a little ways out of town; close enough to walk but buried enough in the trees. My dad always wanted a son but wound up with two daughters instead. Luckily that didn't stop dad from taking me hunting when I turned six. He made me this tiny bow made from a stick and string. Even though it didn't work real well I preferred going hunting rather than staying home and helping mom around the house. However, one day when I was eight, dad told me I couldn't go with him. His boss at work had just cut down his pay and we couldn't afford much at the time. Dad told me to help mom around the house and I got really mad. When mom had started the fire to cook dinner she told me to watch it until dad came back and to make sure it kept going. She went to take a nap with my younger sister. Since I was still in a bad mood I stoked the fire real good and then left to go practice some."

Neji just listened as his simple question had been ignored and turned into the girl's life story but sensing her semi-entranced tone, he decided not to interrupt as she continued.

"When I started heading back I smelt something off. As soon as I realized the smell to be smoke I sprinted home. As I got closer I could hear screaming and when I arrived there I ran up to my mother who was cradling my younger sister who was screeching loudly. Once my mom looked up and noticed I was there she pulled me into an embrace. That's when I saw, from over moms shoulder, my father's bow and quiver lying on the ground. I still remember my mom screaming my name as I ran into the burning building. I called for him many times but he never answered and then I collapsed. The next thing I knew I was waking up next to the ruins of our caved in house. My sister was still crying and both parents were still there. Dad had heard me screaming and was able to find me before the house caved in on us. However, his hands were burnt badly and with being a blacksmith and not being able to use his hands, he was fired. After that we couldn't afford to buy another house. We were on the streets from then on."

As she paused Neji took it upon himself to ask, "I thought you said you lost your house because your father lost his job."

Tenten ignored this to answer his first question, "Everything was lost in the fire including all the toys. With nothing to play with we had to use what we could find and our imaginations. Not even having a place to stay made it hard to imagine you were a princess, so instead I'd always pretend to be some ninja on a mission. I'd use rocks and sticks as my weapons and throughout the years I just got good at it."

Neji, now more intrigued with his second question asked, "Why didn't you tell me the truth?"

"Because everyone else was listening. This isn't something to be proud of and some things aren't meant to be shared with everyone. The entire reason we were homeless was because of me and no matter how many times my parents would tell me I saved my dad when I ran into that burning house and called his name, I can't help but feel bad that it was all my fault from the beginning. My family was homeless and still is all because of me. I don't know if I'll ever be able to forgive myself for that."

"Could it be…" Neji's voice faded causing Tenten to look up with a questioning glance.

"What?"

"Could it be…" Neji repeated slowly, "That you allowed yourself to get caught by my guards?"

The girls eyes widened in shock, before she turned away shaking her head.

"They were better off without me anyways."

"Are you serious?"

"It was my entire fault we lost our home and dad was fired."

"That happened when you were eight years old."

"And we have been homeless since!"

Neji sighed back at the remorseful girl.

"That's not your fault."

"It may not be, but I was obviously not helping the situation either. I didn't mean to get caught by the guards, but I guess I wasn't as against it when it meant I could save my sister from a life of servitude. At least I could do something right."

"So you ran away? Running away is never the right thing to do. It's cowardly."

"It wasn't cowardly. I did what was best for my family."

"By lying to them? By pretending you weren't planning on getting caught? By breaking them up?"

"I didn't break them up!" Tenten snapped back, "I kept them together!"

"They already lost their home and now they lost their daughter and sister."

"What about Hinata!? She ran away! Why don't you go have this cowardice discussion with her?" Tenten fumed as Neji growled back at her. Just why was he so upset about this whole ordeal anyway?

"Hinata didn't run away from fear. She ran away from a life that made her miserable."

"So did I!"

"It's obvious from just looking at you that wasn't the case." Neji was obviously still highly irritated but managed to bring his voice back down, "Hinata ran away from misery. You took yours with you. You weren't happy there because of your own guilt. Leaving your family will never take that guilt away. Since your misery is caused by you, the moment you stepped into that carriage your misery followed you in. When the problem is you, you must face it because it's impossible to run away from."

Tenten remained silent in thought as Neji walked over to pull the shuriken from the target. When he was done he walked back over and handed them to Tenten, looking her straight in the eye as he did so.

"Your father lost his job because his hands got hurt protecting something that was more precious to him than his job. That proves your father didn't want to lose you and you still chose to leave. I don't know what it's like to lose everyone, but I do know the pain of losing someone precious to you and now your family will have to feel that loss too. If you want to feel guilty about something, feel guilty about that."

With that said, Neji turned and walked off not quite sure where he was going, but making it quite obvious he did not want to be followed.

* * *

><p><strong>With the Fire Residents<strong>

"You just can't seem to stay away from the hospital wing can you?"

Sakura laughed at the maid changing her bandages to clean her newest wound. She happened to be the same maid that had bandaged her up in the first place.

"Yeah, well I love hospitals." Sakura laughed once more, paused shortly, then spoke, "Actually I've always wanted to work in a hospital. To help save lives would be a dream come true."

"I see," the maid replied, finishing the bandages and getting up to get some scissors, "And might I ask what happened to your hair?"

"Oh, I was just messing around with the sword and it slipped." Sakura laughed sheepishly as the maid gave her a skeptical look.

"It slipped and landed next to your neck? Odd angle, wouldn't you say?"

"Well I was spinning it and tossing it in the air." Noticing the skeptical looks she was receiving Sakura quickly added, "I know it definitely wasn't my brightest move."

"I'd say," the maid answered, "all finished."

At this Sakura reached up to touch her now short hair that cut off about mid-neck. She sighed at the thought of how long it took to grow out, before thanking the maid and stepping out of the hospital wing only to find Sasuke waiting.

"She's all cleared to leave," the maid told the Fire prince as she pushed past the bandaged girl. Sasuke only nodded in response.

"If I may be so bold, I would like to tell you to look over your maid a bit closer. This time her wounds weren't that bad but next time she might not be so lucky." Again Sasuke nodded and Sakura grumbled.

"Trust me; he does _not_ need to keep any closer watch on me than he already does."

"Then might I make a suggestion?" Sasuke just shrugged in reply so the maid continued, "Weapons are _not_ toys. I'd suggest that you keep them away from people who don't have any idea how to wield them."

"I agree…"

"He'll try harder next time I'm sure." Sakura put in as Sasuke glanced curiously at her.

"You better or next time she decides throwing swords around, _you_ might be the one in the hospital." Now it was the maid's turn to receive a questioning glance from the Fire prince. In return the maid just smiled and walked off.

"Since when was anyone throwing swords in the air?"

Sakura froze for a moment before laughing hesitantly, "Well it was better than saying you dragged a sword through my arm while messing around right?"

"I wasn't messing around," Sasuke snapped, "I was trying to prove a point."

"Yeah, well I definitely got the point." Sakura replied back, her voice taking on a sarcastic tone, "It sunk about a half inch into my right arm."

Sasuke slightly flinched at this as the girl continued, "Not to mention it could leave a permanent scar as a reminder, and it just adds onto my earlier wounds, _and_ my hair's gone, _and_..."

"I'm sorry"

"Huh?" Sakura glanced at the prince.

"About your hair," he answered, "and your arm too I guess."

"You guess?"

Sasuke ignored the girl however as he continued, "Swords are not toys, even a master would have to take precaution when wielding such a dangerous weapon and the way I went about explaining it to you only proves that perhaps even I shouldn't be allowed to wield a sword."

Sakura watched as Sasuke was deep in thought before replying.

"I think you could let your mistake slip just this once." Sasuke gave her an incredulous look as she continued, "I actually was the one at fault and I did learn my lesson. Don't get me wrong, I _do_ know that a sword is both dangerous and sharp, however I never planned on hitting you earlier and even though I missed, I'm sure you weren't planning on harming me either. That proves that accidents do happen even when you have control of the situation. Had I missed, you could have died and had the roles been reversed, I probably would've acted similar."

Even though Sakura had said that, it didn't change the fact that Sasuke knew he should've known better. He looked up to find her staring off in space; her hand subconsciously running through her now short hair.

"It looks nice short," he replied.

"Huh?"

"Your hair, it looks nice short."

With that said, Sasuke walked off leaving the stunned girl. A half-minute later she broke away from her shocked state and grimaced back at the still retreating form in front of her.

"Well, if you thought it'd look better short, you could've just asked." she mumbled to herself, following Sasuke down the hall to wherever he was headed.

* * *

><p>The rest of the day had passed really quick and it was now the morning of the next day. Currently, everyone was outside at the front gates saying their last goodbyes. It wasn't a real emotional event due to all the guys that didn't possess the ability to feel, along with the fact that everyone knew they were going to meet up again in a week for the unexpected banquet at the Wind castle. However, being that they weren't going to be able to attend the banquet, Gaara and Matsuri had to say their proper goodbyes.<p>

After everyone else, Matsuri made her way up to Tenten.

"I truly am sorry about my rudeness in the dining hall yesterday. Sometimes I just have the hardest time relinquishing my curiosity.

"It's fine," the brunette replied back with a smile, "In the end, I'm kind of glad you called me out. I was finally able to get some things off my chest."

Both girls smiled warmly at each other before Gaara nudged his maid to remind her of something.

"Oh, that's right!" she exclaimed quickly, looking back at her prince, then to everyone else, "We have a parting gift for you all."

As if on cue, four maids came out, each holding an identical flower. Each maid handed it to the maids from the different countries who smiled back as Matsuri continued.

"As proof of our unity, we would like to bestow this rare gift to you and hope you do enjoy them. Please travel safely on your way home and take care in the future. We do hope to meet again soon."

Everyone thanked the Sand residents for the generous gift before they all took their leave; unaware of the changes about to fall upon them in a matter of days.

* * *

><p><strong>That's it for now… Thanks to all my reviewers… just like with how I will take in some suggestions, if you ask a question of what will happen later in the story… (Whether it happens or not) I cannot answer right now… However I enjoy when people guess what's going to happen, it makes the reviews really exciting to read haha… =) And I DO love to put twists in my story… so who knows… if someone guesses a part of my plot correctly and I remember… I would like to give them some acknowledgement when the time comes… =p<strong>

**A few have also asked if I would be continuing this story and the answer is "Of Course!" I just can't guarantee my updates to be consistent due to college and other personal conflicts but I will NOT leave this story unfinished! =)**

**And as for Sas/Sak part, I know that any **_**smart**_** person would not try to prove a point the way Sasuke did, but his anger gets the best of him. My brother owns a ton of swords and when his friends come over and start swinging them around like nothing it's aggravating so I just had to put in a part like that… since it's one of my big pet peeves… haha**

**Anyway R&R! ^-^**


	22. Chapter 22

**Finally, after much waiting a new chapter is here! So very sorry for the wait!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

* * *

><p><strong>My Prince Charming<strong>

**Chapter 21**

* * *

><p><strong>In the Water Carriage<strong>

"_Hey mom! Look what I got!"_

"_What a pretty flower Naruto."_

"_Happy birthday mom!"_

"_Where did you get it?"_

"_In town"_

"_By yourself?"_

"_Yup!"_

"_It must be special then."_

"_Of course! The guy said it was a real special flower!"_

"_Haha… Did he now?"_

"_Yes! Go Ahead! Smell it! Smell it! He said it was freshly picked so it's never been smelt before so only you can smell it; no one else! Not me and not even dad. You understand?"_

"_Hahaha…of course Naruto"_

"_Naruto…"_

"Naruto…"

"N-Naruto"

The blond prince pulled out of his thoughts as he realized he still hadn't taken his eyes off the gift from the sand castle that still resided in the Hyuga girl's lap.

"A-are you alright?" She questioned as she glanced up at him with a concerned expression.

He took just a moment before laughing it off and nodding his head, "Of course! I just spaced out is all."

"Oh O-okay"

The carriage fell back into an awkward silence as the Hyuga sat there watching the blonde who never seemed to break gaze with the object in her lap.

"I-I'm sure your mother was very happy."

"Huh?"

"The f-flower… It's such a pretty gift to receive. She must have liked it."

Naruto took a moment to answer, wondering if he was speaking out loud before remembering his conversation with Sakura and Hinata in the gardens.

"Yeah, she liked it. She didn't get much time to appreciate it though."

"You only need one moment to appreciate something. If you get the t-time to appreciate it again then that is an added bonus I think." Naruto finally raised his eyes from the plant to the girl as she continued, "Neji may have let me stay this time but j-just by getting caught, it's finally starting to sink in… I c-can't hide forever. R-remember what Gaara said?" The blonde thought about it (not noticing it as a rhetorical question) before Hinata stated, "The wind castle is have a banquet. The maids will most likely have to be there t-too meaning I'll have to go back to the wind castle where it'll be too difficult to hide who I am."

Naruto's eyes widened at this. The thought hadn't even crossed his mind when Gaara mentioned he wouldn't be attending the banquet in the Wind Country. The blonde prince was more surprised at the thought of Neji even hosting a banquet that he didn't even think of what that would mean for his maid. Coming out of his thoughts Naruto tried reassuring the girl, "It'll be okay Hinata, I can bring a different m…"

"Why?" This question startled the prince as he thought the answer was quite obvious before the girl answered quietly, "If you t-take someone else everyone will question why. If someone finds it weird they will look up on it and then I'll be f-found out for sure."

"You don't know th…"

"Kagiro would find out."

"What?"

Hinata let out a quiet sigh as she glanced out the carriage window, "I remember him. He came to the Wind castle before for the p-peace signing treaty between our countries."

Naruto glanced down in silence as his mind took him to that day many years back. It was the first time he had met Neji. His parents were there for the signing and Kagiro had to come along because a seven year old Naruto wanted to go. Kagiro was always watching after him when his parents' were busy.

"You… met Kagiro before?" Naruto questioned unsurely.

"Y-yes… Just once"

**~*~Flashback~*~**

_A seven year old Hinata rubbed her eyes as she woke up to the sun shining through the balcony curtains. After getting dressed she went back to her balcony. Besides her room, this was the only place she was "allowed" to be without her guards. It never made much sense to her how she couldn't wander the halls alone but she could stand on a balcony from which she could fall or an intruder could climb up and snatch her or shoot her from the ground if they had the right weapon. Indeed these were preposterous ideas but so was the thought of having guards outside your room while you slept or having them by your side as you ate or walked down the halls of your own home._

_Hinata then glanced back at her door which surely had guards standing watch on the other side. She sighed before going to sit back down on her bed. Feeling the softness of her blanket relaxed her a bit before an idea came to mind. If people could climb up the balcony then surely she could get down. Taking an idea from one of the many books she had read, Hinata took her many blankets tying them in knots before shoving them over the balcony and tying one end to one of the balcony poles. She made it a little over halfway down before one of the knots came undone causing her to go crashing to the ground with a small shriek. As soon as she untangled from her blankets a voice called out to her._

_Thinking she had been caught, her face turned beat red before she looked up to see an older man she'd never seen before. He certainly wasn't a Hyuga. The thought of him being an intruder briefly crossed her mind until she got a good look at him. The worry in his eyes calmed her fear as he kneeled down next to her._

"_Are you alright?" He asked as she silently nodded back, "That was quite a fall." Once again she just nodded in reply. _

"_Were you escaping?" Hinata's eyes widened in fear once again; perhaps this guy was going to tell on her. What she didn't expect was for the man to start laughing. "I suppose anyone in their right mind wouldn't answer that even at such a young age." He continued to smile at the girl before looking back up at the balcony and the blanket still hanging down. "Well that's going to be tough to hide. It looks like you'll only get a few minutes of freedom today. You should get going, I'll clean these up."_

_Hinata, still too stunned to say anything, nodded once more before standing up and running off. Once she was far enough away she hid behind a small tree and glanced back at the old man picking up her blankets and placing them behind a bush, hidden from view. She took one step out from the tree before jumping back behind it as she heard feet running her way. She carefully glanced back around the trunk to see her cousin fighting with a blonde haired boy that again was someone she had never seen.  
><em>

**~*~End~*~**

'_**That must have been Naruto…'**_

"So what do we do?"

Hinata snapped out of her reverie and glanced back over at Naruto who was looking at her with a questioning glance.

"I don't know," She answered truthfully and looked back to the plant in her lap. "As I was s-saying before; to appreciate something more than once is a privilege...A privilege that not everyone gets. When I finally get caught, I'll have to go back to the Wind Castle but I'll still be happy that I had the chance to meet you and grateful that I had the opportunity to appreciate it even if it was only for a f-few weeks."

* * *

><p><strong>In the Earth Carriage<strong>

"_Here are your rooms' sirs. Will your maids be staying in the maid quadrants or with you?"_

"_It's more convenient, and luckily it seems we're not the only ones who think that way."_

"_I've been forced to share rooms with Neji before."_

"_Hinata had to sleep with me last night!"_

Shikamaru let out a nervous cough causing Ino to glance his way. As soon as their eyes met Shikamaru snapped his head back towards his carriage window, ignoring the questioning look from the blonde.

He had no idea why these sentences were plaguing his thoughts since they left the Sand castle. It's not like it was some problem he was faced with. The ride back to his castle was only a day's trip. They'd be back to the Earth castle long before nightfall so why was he thinking of this now? It's not like he would be in the position where she would have to share the same room when they were at his castle. Well unless he forced her to… but why would he do that? … How would he do that even? … 'It's not like I could just get her in trouble.'

"Who?"

Shikamaru snapped his head back at the blonde girl.

"What?" he questioned back.

"You were talking out loud. Something about getting someone in trouble… who?"

"O-oh… um… you…"

Both teens eyes widened in surprise at his reply. Shikamaru couldn't believe he actually told her that he was thinking of getting her in trouble! What was wrong with him!? What was he thinking!? Oh right, he wasn't thinking. He never seems to be thinking whenever this girl was around.

Was she rubbing off on him?

Ino was about to ask what she did that was so wrong to get her into trouble when the prince stuttered out.

"D-double… I was thinking about getting you into a double… room I mean."

"Room?" the blonde questioned.

"Yeah," the prince replied, "You share a double room down in the maid quarters. I was thinking it might be nice for you to get a room to yourself, being my personal maid and all."

"Oh," Ino answered back awkwardly, "Well, I really don't need all that space."

"Isn't that what you like?"

"What?"

"The first time we met. When I took you to my room you liked it because it was spacious." Ino was about to reply back but he continued, "You weren't talking about my dresser since you have one already in your room that's similar and I doubt you were fascinated by my bedspread considering that the first thing you told me was the color green was gross. I'm right aren't I? You were talking about the size of the room. A double is the same size you're staying in right now but without a roommate it will seem larger."

There was a long pause as Shikamaru waited for her to answer. However, as soon as he saw her with an expression that was surely about to deny everything he just said he once again interrupted her.

"I want you to have a room closer to mine."

He watched as her crystal blue orbs widened in surprise and confusion back at him but he didn't turn away this time. Instead he stared straight back at her with a face completely devoid of emotion.

"You're a personal maid. You should have your own room… And I want it to be close to mine."

* * *

><p><strong>In the Wind Carriage<strong>

"Hey Neji?"

"Hn?"

"Are you still angry?"

"No"

Tenten glared at the prince who stared back stoically, "Do I look stupid to you?"

"No, but looks are known to be deceiving." Tenten gritted her teeth and opened her mouth to retort back when Neji continued, turning to face her directly, "And before you go yelling at me think about what you said… Why ask a question if you already know the answer. In my opinion, that _is _stupid." Tenten closed her mouth, finally defeated, as Neji let out a sigh before finishing, "Maybe try rephrasing the question to something you don't have the answer to yet."

It took a minute before Tenten gained the courage to speak again, "Why are you mad then? It was under your orders that we were to be taken. Why are you so upset that I wasn't completely against it? Did you want everyone to suffer? Was that it?"

"We needed new maids. It had nothing to do with how people felt."

"Obviously," Tenten scoffed back, "So then why are you so angry? What I do with my life is my business; no one else's; mine."

"But it affects others!" Tenten's eyes widened at the princes tone, "The choices one makes still affects others. You chose to get caught. You chose to run away. You left them to suffer; your family. They didn't do anything to deserve that. They…"

"Neji?"

The prince glanced back at the worried girl, finally pulled out of his upsetting trance.

"I'm sorry, I… wasn't thinking. Well, I mean I was thinking… not about that."

"About your dad?" Tenten asked barely above a whisper. Neji looked up in surprise before Tenten continued, "Just because you guys kept Hinata's disappearance a secret, your father's sacrifice was known all through the Wind Country. Even to the very border. Unlike the shame you would've received from a runaway princess, your father's death was honorable. I was young, but my parents told me the story many times… It was my favorite. Of course, I didn't know he was your father. When I first got here I thought you were the King's son, but when Hinata had told her story I found out the truth."

Neji didn't know what to say; or was still frozen in shock that someone outside, not of royal status knew his secret; that the king had no sons and left his nephew as the new heir to the throne.

"He was a hero," Neji glanced back at the girl speaking, "and a brave man."

"There was nothing brave about what he did." Neji bit back coldly, "It was cowardly."

"He knew an assassin was after your uncle, and acted as his double to protect him. How is that cowardly?"

"He left us!" Neji snapped, "He didn't have to do it. He offered up his own life; not caring how it'd affect us; his family. He knew surviving was extremely low and he chose to leave us! … No wonder he's your hero… You're both the same."

Tenten could feel the anger emanating from the Wind prince as he tried to calm back down.

"I don't see it that way." Neji glared at the girl who just ignored him and continued, "I think you were right earlier. What you said about me running away and everything else. I did do the cowardly thing, but I think your dad did the right thing. You see his sacrifice as running away but I see it as him sacrificing himself to protect something precious to him; his brother. Just like my dad did for me."

"_Your father lost his job because his hands got hurt protecting something that was more precious to him than his job."_ Neji's earlier words rang through his head at this.

"I always looked at what happened to my dad as my fault. I never thought about another possible reason as to why my dad's hands were burnt that day. Perhaps both of us have been so clouded with our emotions of guilt and betrayal that we both overlooked the reason our dads made the sacrifices they did. I know my dad didn't save me just because mom was watching and I'm positive your dad didn't sacrifice himself just for the good of the kingdom. Their sacrifices were made from love; to protect those they weren't ready to lose." After that was said, the two sat in silence as the carriage continued to drag them back to the Wind castle.

* * *

><p><strong>In the Fire Carriage<strong>

"_Your heart is there, but it's broken. No one ever pays attention to something that's broken. That's why it's hard to see."_

"_It may be broken Sasuke, but it can be fixed, and when it is, people will start seeing it again."_

Sasuke's hand slowly reached up to his chest. He glanced over at the pink haired girl sleeping with her head against the carriage side; the miracle flower resting in her lap.

"_Naruto knows details of some things only you would know. You obviously trust him and I have a good assumption that you trust Yuka too. That may only be two people, but that's a start."_

He had never really thought of it before. Trust… What was trust? To him, it had always been a word… Did it really have a meaning?

"_Showing emotion is a great sign of trust."_

"_Trust isn't just one sided. In order to receive trust, you must first give it."_

Sasuke felt a little heat rise to his face as the action that came soon after that entered his mind.

'_Kiss_…'

'_What the hell was that all about?'_

How was that a sign of trust? And what in the world had she been thinking!?

…

Okay… maybe he shouldn't get so mad. He remembered that one day he woke up and she was standing right by his bedside. He had joked about kissing back then… but still… a prince and a maid… that would never work… no matter how hard they tried it just wouldn't work.

…

Not that he wanted to try. Ever since they met they would argue and fight. Sure, he had gone to help her parents, but that was out of kindness… He didn't mean anything else by it. He felt sorry for her, nothing more…

"_Pink is appreciation and admiration and in words can mean 'Thank you' or 'please believe me.' Yellow stands for friendship and the promise of a new beginning. It can also mean 'I care."_

'_Thank you', 'Please believe me'_… She was just trying to cheer him up.

'_I care'_… And that was why. They cared for one another. It's not against the rules to tell someone you care about "Thank you" or "Please believe me." It's not against the law to tell them you care or help them and precious people to them when you have a chance. Their actions were solely based on their consideration for each other.

'_And Sakura's kiss…'_ Sasuke paused a moment in thought and glanced back at the still sleeping girl, _'that too was done out of sensitivity.'_

It's not like she had feelings for him, the man who took her away from what she held dear… and he most definitely did not hold feelings for her… not that way at least.

'_Feelings of deep meanings…Feelings of attraction… Feelings of love…'_

What was love anyway? A feeling for another? An emotion of your own?

'_What was love?'_

'…'

'_What was trust?'_

In a way, they seemed to be two of the same. Depending on the person you ask, the answer would vary. To get a definite answer on either word would be near impossible. Everyone seemed to have their own opinion of the words.

…

Did he?

* * *

><p><strong>In the Water Carriage<strong>

"Sire, I think it'd be best if we stopped for the night."

Naruto glanced up at the guard who opened the carriage door.

"What? It isn't even dark yet!"

The guard did not hesitate in answering back, "Yes, but we don't want you to have to resort to sharing a room again."

"I don't mind"

"It's unfitting for a prince to share a room with a woman of such a…"

"Are you really going to finish that sentence?" Naruto asked in a threatening tone, causing the guard to freeze.

The guard paused a moment to rephrase his statement and to bite back the snarl forming in his throat caused by his disgust at a mere peasant girl having such control over a prince.

"…A woman of such a difference in status. It's not a good image for the…"

"I'd watch my tongue if I were you." Naruto warned dangerously, "Hinata is not someone you can speak to like that."

The guard looked back at him questioningly as the blonde heard the shy girl seated next to him let out a small gasp and stutter out his name before he added, "I won't allow it. Do you understand?"

The guard just nodded back with a tight jaw before Naruto stated, "We'll travel a while longer before stopping for the night."

* * *

><p><strong>In the Wind Country<strong>

"Prince, we have arrived"

Neji just nodded in acknowledgement at the guard who spoke.

"I have received information that there is a visitor here today."

"What?"

The guard just shrugged back unknowingly at the prince's question, "The reason for the visit is unknown, but the word is he will be waiting for you when the carriages have stopped."

Neji looked away, deep in thought. If someone was visiting on such short notice they must have a good reason or at least enough power to overlook their sudden intrusion. However; someone in that high of position would simply not stand outside and wait for the carriages. They would be escorted to the throne room if they were of a higher status. Was it someone working under someone with a greater status? Perhaps it was an elder. They always seemed to get away with breaking all the rules.

As soon as the carriages stopped the doors were opened and Neji stepped out, followed by Tenten. Almost immediately Neji froze causing Tenten to bump into him and she could've sworn she heard a startled gasp. She was about to ask him what was wrong as she looked up with a shocked gasp of her own; hers quite more audible than that of the princes. What stood in front of them had to be the scariest sight she'd ever seen… or maybe just the scariest person. It was an older man and his eyebrows were huge! It was as if someone had outlined bricks on his face and scribbled them in!

'_Okay… Maybe it wasn't that bad, but these eyebrows definitely had to be bigger than the law should allow!'_ Tenten was lost in her thoughts as the man began to speak.

"My name is Might Gai! I will be working here from now on! It's nice to meet you my prince! Lee!"

As soon as the name was called, a boy stepped out from behind the man and Tenten took a sharp intake of breath before leaning over to the still stunned and incredibly confused Wind prince whispering, "It's a clone."

This broke Neji out of his frozen stupor as he turned to Tenten to glare at her weird sense to joke around at inappropriate times.

"Introduce yourself!" The older man barked down at the boy who saluted back at the man in higher authority before turning back to the two brunettes.

"Yes sir! My name is Rock Lee! I will be working here from now on! It's nice to meet you my prince!" After speaking, Lee went back into an attention stance, mimicking Gai's every move. Even the introduction was the same; not just with the words but with the way they spoke. Each sentence was sharp and filled with enthusiasm. Finally Neji gained back the power of speech as he questioned them.

"You work here now? I didn't hire anyone new. We don't need any more workers, nor do we have any desire to create tasks just to hire a few more people. You may leave now."

"We already have our jobs assigned to us. We have no need for you to create any open positions. We did not come here in look for work but for work itself. We came on orders." Gai replied back, causing the Hyuga to look back at him. This time his voice had calmed down and a look of all seriousness and determination had replaced his energetic appearance from before.

"What?" The prince questioned once again as Lee looked back at him in question.

"Have you not heard?"

* * *

><p><strong>In the Earth Country<strong>

"So you're saying the elders hired you to work here for us?"

"More or less… A more accurate term would be guides. We are here to watch over you. 'Keep an eye on you' in other words."

Shikamaru sighed at this new situation. Once they had arrived at the Earth palace they had been introduced to two strangers; a man and a woman. They said their names were Asuma and Kurenai. Apparently the elders had sent two people to each of the castles in the wind, earth, water and fire countries. One was sent to keep an eye on the prince and report back to the elder's if anything '_suspicious'_ were to happen and they were allowed to bring one other with them as an assistant. Kurenai happened to be Asuma's assistant, as well as wife as he later stated. Them; along with Shikamaru and Ino had gone to the gardens to finish up this interrogation.

"So why have they sent you now?" Shikamaru questioned the couple in front of them, "I thought the reason my father left this castle was that the elder council initially decided to let the princes' start taking the reins around here. To see how we would fair when we come of age to take the full responsibilities of the throne. What made them send someone else along to help us make decisions?"

Asuma scratched the back of his head, letting out a tired sigh, "Even we aren't quite filled in on everything. We only know what duties we are assigned; not the details as to why. My closest guess would be that one of you princes has done something to make them doubt your abilities to be able to keep the countries safe. However; if you sort out all the facts they never sent anyone to the Sand Country making me think that it has something to do with you four princes individually."

Shikamaru nodded as he closed his eyes to process the information. _'So we did something wrong. Does that even make sense? What could I have done wrong? I never do anything as it is… Is that why they sent them? No… that couldn't be it. The other princes had people sent to guide them too."_

* * *

><p><strong>In the Wind Country<strong>

"How is it that two people were sent to each castle and we ended up getting the creepiest two of them all!?"

"Tenten" Neji warned. Even if he found what she said to be true he was not one to tolerate rudeness. The two had just finished talking with the new _'guardian' _and his _'assistant' _and they were now heading to the training grounds. "Don't call others names. Besides, you don't know if that's accurate."

"You think someone else ended up with someone creepier!?"

"I do not know, nor do I care."

Silence engulfed the two until they reached the training grounds. Neji froze at the next question that slipped from the girl's lips.

"Am I sleeping in your room tonight?"

Neji's eyes widened as he turned around but soon it was replaced by a smug smirk, "No, why? You want too?"

Tenten gave a sigh before answering, "Not really, but I can't really imagine having the courage to fall asleep with those creatures on the loose." Neji gave a questioning glance before realizing the '_creatures'_ she mentioned was in fact referring to the newest additions to the castle causing his eyes to narrow again. This girl must not hear a thing that he says. He broke out of his thoughts as the girl continued, "They'd definitely go for you first right? I mean you have the longer hair. They might need it to make sweaters for those caterpillars living on their face."

"Tenten!"

* * *

><p>"Sasuke?"<p>

The Fire prince turned to the girl once his named was called; an unreadable expression was on his face as he spoke, "Just tonight"

The pinkette stared back, waiting for an elaboration.

"Tomorrow when we arrive back at the palace, you are still required to sleep in my quarters, but until then you have one more night." With that said he handed the girl her own key to a separate room and turned around to walk off. His mind was too flustered right now, so he decided to give himself one more day. Then everything would go back to normal. They would both go back to where they had left off before the travel to Sand.

Sakura just smiled back at the prince as he walked away.

'_Just this once…' _she thought to herself, looking at the key, _'For just tonight, I don't think I would've minded sharing the room with you…'_

* * *

><p><em> "You still haven't found the cause?" <em>

"_I'm sorry my king but what happened to your wife has never been heard of before. It was just a simple cold. We've tried everything but we still can't understand how it turned into something so bad. Something so…"_

"_Deadly" The Water King finished unfazed, "It's not a taboo word. It's life and it's a fact. She's dead and no matter if you state it out loud or in your mind it won't revive her, nor will it kill her once more."_

_The nurse looked away with a sad expression as a fourteen year old Naruto watched from the doorway. It was the night after mother's funeral and Naruto's feet had subconsciously led him down to his mother's hospital room where he was surprised to see his dad was already there, talking to the nurse who spent the most time with his mom._

_As his dad stated that he would like to be alone the nurse bowed and nearly ran into the young prince. Both eyes widened in surprise but the lady said nothing as she could see the pleading in his eyes that he didn't want his father knowing he was there. As the nurse left, Naruto turned back to his father to watch him go sit down on the bed with a heavy sigh. The king looked over to the bedside table and grabbed the potted plant before bringing the flower up to his nose and inhaling its scent. It was the flower Naruto recognized as the one he gave his mom for her birthday. The flower that was only meant for his mother to smell… The flower she promised no one else would get to smell._

_The king gently placed the flower back on the small table and rested his head in his hands as his shoulders shook and although he couldn't hear a sound, Naruto knew he was crying. He never noticed how long he stood there watching his father cry. He had never seen him cry before and he prayed that he'd never have to see it again even though he knew this would only be the first of many times to come._

Naruto woke from his dream with a sob. It had been such a long time, years even since he dreamed of that night. He quickly untangled form the blankets and wiped away his tears, glancing over at the miracle flower residing on the nightstand. Hinata had placed it there before heading over to her own room.

Naruto had half a mind to tell her to keep it since she seemed so fascinated by the simple flower but couldn't bring himself to give it away due to the memories that had recently been plaguing his mind. This flower was the last gift his mother received before her death and although he'd much rather not be reminded of it, he couldn't bring himself to get rid of it or give it away.

After looking at the plant for a few minutes a new question had formed in his head.

'_What exactly did happen to the flower I gave mom?'_

Sakura had said that they couldn't die easily. If that was true then what had happened to that flower? All that he could remember was that it disappeared that week; overnight. One day it was there and gone the next.

Did his father really get rid of it?

* * *

><p><strong>That's it for now. Again, sorry for the long wait. Blame it on Sasuke and Sakura… I was stuck due to them… haha… Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed it and don't forget to review! =)<strong>


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